The Legend of Icess, Queen of the Forsaken
by Prayer Reverie
Summary: The college students of the Heliopolis Technical College are rewarded with a weeklong field trip to Earth to learn more about the ancient history. While visiting a dig site located in North America, secrets are inadvertently revealed, some bad, some wors
1. Earthbound

This fic was created in response to a personal challenge from Hildebrant (author of "Back to You" and "Begin Anew", creator of the C2 "Non-Canon Couples"). I do love the occasional challenge, so I rose to this one.

This is an Alternate Universe (AU) and Non-Canon (NC) work of fiction. It is set in the Cosmic Era (CE) Universe, and it does involve Naturals and Coordinators, but the war hasn't started. And there will be some major OoC-ness.

Summary: The college students of the Heliopolis Technical College are rewarded with a week-long field trip to Earth to learn more about the ancient history. While visiting a dig site located in North America, secrets are inadvertently revealed, some bad, some worse. Now the survivors must find a way to escape with their sanity … and their lives.

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_**The Legend of Icess, Queen of the Forsaken**_

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Chapter 1: Earth-bound

"Well class, the request went through and we have approval. In two weeks time, we're going down to Earth!" the students of the Heliopolis Technical College cheered. Their teacher, a tall but balding Natural known as Ron Manson, had worked very hard to get permission for this trip, talking to members of the Archeological teams all over the Earth, and with his own superiors at the institute.

When the idea was first brought forward, the 43 students were all for it. Most of the children in Heliopolis had been born on the colony, so as a result they knew very little of Earth. Accompanying the class S16, which had well known students like Kira Yamato, Miriallia Haw, Flay Alster, Sai Argyle, Kuzzey Buskirk and Tolle Koening, was J13 and G17.

In total, it would be over 120 students and teachers taking the exciting trip down to Earth. Of course, there were requirements for a student to be allowed on the journey, such as maintaining an average of 80 or better in all courses, having permission from a parent or legal guardian, and passing a small history test on Earth.

The other teachers and professors had never seen so many students in one class with an average of 90 or higher in all of their classes, but then they figured that with the proper motivation, a student could do just about anything. Indeed, the students in S16 seemed to get along very well, everyone was helping everyone so that no one failed the requirements. They made a teacher proud.

"So in the next two weeks, I've altered the curriculum so that we can study North America and prepare for the trip. Doctor Carl Ryan and Professor Cyril Ferguson have been kind enough to send along information on the continent and the areas we will be visiting." Manson continued.

This was the most exciting thing to ever happen to Kira, and he could hardly wait. The rest of the class went by quickly, but then the day dragged on. The students of S16 had the same classes together, all day long. Their History class with Mister Manson was their second class, their first being Mathematics.

Their third class, right before lunch, was Physical Education. Then lunch came around, then Computer Systems Technology and finally General Sciences. As if taunting them, the days started to drag out, feeling like there was more than 24 hours every day. It was painful and torture and the students of S16, J13 and G17 swore that it was done on purpose.

They were to leave on Saturday morning for Earth, and by the time they would land, it would be Sunday afternoon in North America. From Monday to Sunday they would tour the various sites and places of interest, and then return to space on the following Monday. The Friday preceding the trip, the students of all three classes became so antsy and excited that their last classes were cancelled because the teachers couldn't get their attention long enough.

It was a nice sunny day outside the school as Kira, Tolle, Sai, Miriallia and Flay walked home together. Kuzzey usually joined them but he was busy with 'something important' as he had told them. Sai lived the closest to the school, but he usually walked to Flay's house and then went back to his own. Most of the student body in the Technical College knew that Sai had a major crush on Flay, but neither Flay nor Sai chose to act on it.

As usual, Sai and Flay walked up her driveway as the rest of them continued on. "Thanks again for walking with me Sai." She smiled at him. Her smiles always seemed to lighten his heart. "I'll see you in the morning, it's a big day tomorrow!" he replied.

"I've never been to Earth before, even with my father being the man he is. I can't wait." Flay said excitedly. Sai stepped forward and took her hands in his. "Flay, there's been something I've wanted to ask you, for a while now."

"Oh?" Flay looked at him expectantly. He opened his mouth to speak. "Flay will y-" he stopped abruptly when a pinecone collided with the side of his head. Sai turned around angrily and yelled at the laughing forms of his friends. "Real funny!" facing Flay again, his expression softened a little.

"You were saying something before?" Flay asked, wondering what Sai was trying to ask her. A light blush formed on his nervous-looking face. "Ah, it's nothing. I'll see you tomorrow." He bade her farewell and started the walk back to his house.

Tolle couldn't stop laughing as he walked with Kira and Miriallia. "Man, did you see the look on his face? He could've murdered us!" Tolle exclaimed, holding his sides from laughing too much. "Murdered you, not us." Kira corrected.

Still laughing, Tolle stopped at the bottom of his driveway. "Yeah, but you have to admit it was funny. Well, I'll see you guys in the morning, 'cause we're going to Earth!" Miriallia smiled, Tolle was in many ways a little boy trapped inside a teenager's body. "Make sure you sleep tonight Tolle." She reminded him.

"That's what the shuttle flight is for!" he called over his shoulder and then closed the door to his house. Kira and Miriallia resumed their walk, living the furthest from their school. Kira was the last of his group of friends to move to Heliopolis, he and his parents had moved here from Copernicus City on the moon.

Kira was seven when they moved to Heliopolis, and he was thankful more so now than ever that he moved into the house right beside Miriallia. The two of them became fast friends, and not a year after, they met Tolle, Sai and Kuzzey. Once they started at the Heliopolis Technical College, Flay became their friend, despite her apparent snobby attitude.

Finally home, Kira walked Miriallia all the way up to her bedroom door. "So … did you need help with packing anything?" he asked her. She smiled kindly at her friend. "I don't think I have anything left to pack, you've helped me for the past three days, but it's sweet of you to offer." She politely declined.

Grinning stupidly, Kira scratched his head. "Yeah, I guess I did help before. I guess I should go finish packing my stuff." He readjusted his backpack and walked down the stairs to her front door. Miriallia's head popped over the balcony railing. "Kira! Want to watch a movie tonight?" she asked him.

"Sure. What time?" he asked. Miriallia always picked out the oddest movies, but Kira usually enjoyed them. "Come over whenever you finish packing." She told him, and then disappeared into her room. Kira ran to his house, dropping his bag on the entryway floor and rushing downstairs to his room. He had been so concerned with helping his neighbor pack her stuff that for the last three days he hadn't even touched his own bags.

Normally it would've taken him all night to pack his bags, but with the prospect of spending another evening with his friend watching an oddball movie, he had to pack fast. Really fast. Two suitcases and a backpack later, his room was pretty much devoid of clothes and electronics.

Taking a quick look around, Kira was satisfied that he had everything he would need all packed up. He looked at his alarm clock to see the time, only to see a blank spot on his desk. "What the? Where did it go?" he wondered aloud. A memory of him stuffing literally everything into his suitcases came back and he laughed lightly. "Oops. Oh well, better go see Milly now."

By the time he made it to her house, Miriallia was already sitting in her living room with a large bowl of popcorn and a blanket wrapped around her legs. "You're late." She told him. He laughed once. "Well, I was so busy helping you pack the past couple of days that I neglected to start my own packing. I packed everything I could, even my alarm clock, so I lost track of time."

She giggled. "You're so strange sometimes Kira. Now sit down so I can start the movie." He complied, plopping down on the couch and grabbing the bowl of popcorn away from her as she started the movie. "What are we watching?" he asked around a mouthful of buttery goodness.

"It's called the Twilight Princess." She tossed him the DVD case, forcing him to release the bowl of popcorn. She nabbed it back as soon as his hands caught the case. Seeing her hold on the snacks, Kira decided to read what it was about. "A lone forest boy in green who can travel between realms has the ability to walk the earth as a wolf. But who is the Twilight Princess and just how far will he have to go?" Below the description were a few reviews. "So beautiful, yet so cold; the Twilight Princess will break hearts with its darkness. Twilight? Princess? The mystery is tied to a limbo where light seems to have died a horrible death."

Kira set the case down on the coffee table in front of him and reached into the bowl for a handful of popcorn. "Sounds interesting." He said, relaxing on her couch to watch the movie. By the end of the movie, Miriallia had fallen asleep, and her head was resting on Kira's shoulder. He pulled the blanket up over her and set the popcorn bowl on the coffee table.

Just as he was about to get up, he heard voices coming up the driveway. It sounded like her parents were home. Her family was not the picture perfect family that one might assume they were judging by the photos on the mantle. Miriallia's father was a borderline alcoholic, and her mother rarely stood up for herself or her daughter. Kira pretended to be asleep as the front door opened.

He could feel her father's eyes boring into the back of his skull as her mother walked quietly to turn the TV and DVD player off. "I don't know about this punk neighbor of ours." Her father grumbled as her mother rejoined him. Of course, her father was a very private man, and wanted only the best for his daughter, but his view of the best often contradicted Mir's view.

"They haven't done anything, and Kira knows better than to try anything without explicit permission." Her mother reminded him. "I suppose." Her father grumbled. Kira sighed in relief as they walked upstairs to their master bedroom. It seemed that her father managed to control either his drinking or his temper, maybe both.

Kira stood quietly and gently picked up the sleeping form of Miriallia. Tiptoeing up the stairs, he silently nudged her door open and set on her bed. "Rest lots, tomorrow's an exciting day." He whispered.

He had been asleep in his own bed for several hours when he rolled over to find something in the way. Something soft and warm and vaguely familiar. An eyelid slowly opened to see the back of Miriallia's head, her orange hair tickling his nose. "Your parents had another fight?" he asked her, placing his hand on her bare arm, causing her to stir.

"Yeah, but you looked so peaceful sleeping so I didn't want to wake you." She told him. There was a quiet laugh before his response. "Hey, I told you if ever need to talk, no matter when, I'll be here for you."

They fell back asleep, both of them sleeping peacefully, but neither of them making intimate moves. Their friendship meant too much to sacrifice it for something that might not be the best idea. Hours later as the dawn sun crept through the window a muffled beeping could be heard. Kira woke first to reach out and slap the snooze button on his alarm clock, only have flesh slap wood instead.

"Right, packed my clock." He muttered. Sitting up, he gazed down at Miriallia, still sleeping in the same position she fell asleep in earlier that night. He smiled at how peaceful and content she looked, and then shrugged and playfully nudged her awake.

"Just five more minutes mom." She moaned, still half-asleep.

Kira laughed. "You can sleep on the shuttle beside Tolle. Right now you've got to get back to your house and get ready." That had the desired effect on his neighbor. Miriallia shot out of Kira's bed in a flash and ran over to one of his windows. Kira stopped her as he realized that she was wearing a sleeveless nightgown. "You can use the front door, my parents are still away."

Miriallia ran hurriedly, barely listening to Kira saying he would help her with the luggage in a bit. Her parents would be angry if they found out that she slept at Kira's again. Her father always assumed that Kira did something inappropriate even though Kira would never think anything of the sort.

Luck was with her as her parents were still fast asleep. Stripping out of her light blue nightgown, Miriallia stretched languidly, enjoying the morning sun pouring in through the small bathroom window. Hot water cascaded over her lithe body as she turned on the shower, washing away the recent memories of the fight between her parents.

Soon enough she had dried herself, combed and arranged her hair and brushed her teeth. Mister Manson had given his students a forecast for the next week for North America, specifically a place they once called Alberta, located in a country called Canada. It was supposed to be a bit on the cold side for the first day and then the weather would warm up to much more bearable temperatures.

Many centuries ago, the people living in Alberta joked that the winter was never truly over, and every few months it would snow for a day, even in the middle of summer. They also joked that they only had one true day of summer, in which they would play summer sports and then go right back to winter. Perhaps there was some truth behind their jokes; it was supposed to be their summer season down there.

Today she picked out a pair of blue jeans, a pink t-shirt and a white sweatshirt. It was always better to have layers than to freeze or overheat she told herself. She had just finished getting ready when the doorbell rang once, letting her know that Kira was probably waiting for her.

She opened the door to find him standing nonchalantly. "Hi Kira." She greeted him. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Hey Miriallia, need help with your luggage?" he asked politely.

"That would be wonderful, thank you." She had two suitcases, a duffel bag and a backpack. Kira had his own two suitcases and a single backpack. He managed to arrange things so he carried his own stuff along with Miriallia's backpack and duffel bag. "So you excited?" he asked.

"Very. It's been years since I've been to Earth, and it'll be fun to go with my friends this time." Kira unfortunately had never been to Earth, born and raised on different colonies. "I'm looking forward to the trip as well." He told her.

There was a charter bus that picked them up, along with any other students on the way. For the flight, each passenger was allowed on carry-on and the rest would be stored in the luggage compartments below decks. One of their fellow classmates, a Natural by the name of Simon Grey was already on the bus and in deep conversation with a pretty blond. Kira and Miriallia sat together, not sure of whom else might board the bus.

The ride to the spaceport was short and boring, as was the boarding procedure. Once strapped into their assigned seats, the chatter began to rise as the students realized that they were moments away from beginning their journey to Earth. All three classes and their respective teachers could only fill one shuttle, which also avoided confusion.

A speedy ZAFT shuttle passed them by as they journeyed through space, the shuttle much smaller than their own. Few students from the Heliopolis Technical College had ever made a re-entry and didn't know exactly what to expect. While the re-entry process could be considered a nerve-racking process, this time it was very smooth.

The view left something to be desired; everywhere they looked, it was nothing but clouds everywhere. Not until they had nearly landed did they see something other than clouds and fog. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Earth." The pilot announced as they touched down. "Conditions are favorable for improvement; the weather is at 3 degrees Celsius, with a 40 chance of rain. Not the best all around, but for former Alberta, this is paradise."

Some students laughed. Most of them were too tired and barely remembered gathering their possessions and checking into the hotel. The last conscious thought on most of their minds was 'where are we?' Kira bunked with Tolle across the hall from Miriallia and Flay. Sai and Simon were three doors down. None of them had seen Kuzzey since the landing, but all of them were too tired to really care.

After all, tomorrow the touring would begin, starting with a recently unearthed temple just over 50 kilometers away. Two of Ron's colleagues were in charge of the site and it promised to be at the very least educational. Then Kira's head hit the pillow and he was out like a light.

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Well the first chapter is up, and that means that V90 should be posted soon as well. Please Read and Review, whether it be good, bad or ugly.  
Thank you all,  
Prayer


	2. The Other Students

Chapter 2: The Other Students

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Breakfast was delayed as many of the students struggled to rise after their flight. Tolle's excitement about being on Earth overrode his fatigue and the first thing Kira knew in the morning was Tolle hitting him with a pillow to wake him. "Wake up bonehead! Food!"

The prospect of food certainly held more sway over Kira than he thought and the boy grudgingly rose out of his rather comfortable bed. The two friends showered and dressed and then headed for the restaurant for breakfast. Sai and Simon were already present, holding a table large enough to seat all of them.

Kira cheerfully greeted the two of them already at the table, but then sighed to himself as he sat as far from Simon as possible. Simon Grey was the son of a wealthy business man, and acted even more conceited and stuck-up than Flay ever could. The tall black-haired boy rarely talked or got along with Kira and often made lewd comments about Coordinators.

He fortunately didn't have endure much more of Simon alone as Miriallia and Flay joined them, the latter sitting across from Sai and the former sitting right beside Kira. Kuzzey appeared out of nowhere plopping down in the last free seat in between Simon and Tolle. "Where were you last night?" Sai asked Kuzzey.

The boy shrugged. "Around." Kira was too hungry to consider pressing the matter, so he stood to wait in line at the buffet table. Miriallia joined him. "So what did you think of the flight down?" she asked, picking up a plate.

"It was neat, but I wish I wasn't so tired today. How are you?" he replied, failing to stifle a yawn. Miriallia giggled. "That's from the real gravity. Your body is adjusting; it'll take a few days. But I'm happy to be back on Earth again and I'm really excited to see these ruins they just discovered. Think about it Kira, we're some of the first people to see a newly discovered civilization!" Her excitement was obvious.

"Uh huh." Kira said lamely as he loaded his plate with bacon, eggs, sausage, toast and some cinnamon buns. "I heard a rumor that we weren't the only school down here to see the ruins. I wonder who else is here."

Miriallia took a more healthy approach to her breakfast, picking some fresh cut fruit, yogurt and some cereal. "That would be neat, to meet students from different colonies, or even from Earth." They sat down at their table as the rest of their group waited in line.

After everyone had finished their breakfast, Ron announced that the buses for the dig site would be leaving in 40 minutes from the main hotel entrance. Students were recommended to wear footwear and clothing suitable for terrain that was more rugged. They all met in front of the doors a little early so they could get good seats together.

Kira wore beige cargo pants, hiking boots and a grey t-shirt under his black spring jacket. Miriallia showed up wearing jeans and a t-shirt and had her jacket slung over one shoulder. Sai was all decked out with clothes that looked more suitable for climbing a mountain, backpack included. Flay was apparently not worried about the conditions, wearing a knee-length pink skirt and white t-shirt.

When they arrived at the site, Sai immediately realized that he was a little over-prepared for this. Flay was still rather under-prepared, but she didn't care that much about it. Manson was busy conversing with a burly man, and then turned to the assembled students before him. "Our two esteemed guides and colleagues will be surface-side in just a few moments. In the meantime, feel free to wander around the courtyard area, but do not venture into the site itself or past anywhere barricaded."

Kira looked around, marveling at the few parts of the ruins that poked through the dirt. Then a group of students on the other side of the courtyard caught his attention. They didn't look like they were from Heliopolis, so perhaps there was some truth behind the rumors of more students. "Mister Manson!" Kira called out. Getting his teacher's attention, he continued. "Where are those students over there from?" he asked, pointing at the group.

Ron smiled. "Glad you asked. They're a group from the PLANTs, here under Rau le Creuset. Go introduce yourself; I think you'd get along with them." Ron suggested.

As he approached the group from the PLANTs, several of them walked away, leaving three of them, one about Kira's height with blue hair, one shorter than Kira with green hair and one taller than Kira with blond hair. "Hey there, I heard you're from the PLANTs." Kira said.

"We sure are. I'm Athrun Zala." The blue haired boy introduced himself.

"Nichol Amarfi." Said the green haired boy.

"Miguel Aiyman." Introduced the blond boy.

"So you're all Coordinators?" Kira asked.

Immediately all of their eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's it to you?" Miguel growled dangerously.

Raising his hands in apology, Kira smiled sincerely. "Sorry, I meant no offense. I haven't met another Coordinator since I was seven and living on the moon. You'd think in a neutral colony there would be more, but I was apparently wrong." He explained.

"So you're a Coordinator then." Athrun stated. Kira nodded.

"I apologize if we seemed brusque, but there are a lot of anti-Coordinator tensions running around Earth. We were surprised when arrangements were made for us to come to Earth." Nichol said.

"I can understand where you're coming from. So you're all here to see the ruins as well?"

"Yeah. This could be the last time that Coordinators are on Earth peacefully. Do your friends know that you're a Coordinator?" Athrun asked.

"Kira!" he was interrupted by Miriallia calling out his name. "We can go down into the ruins now! Come on!"

"Okay, be right there!" he told his friend and then turned back to Athrun. "Sorry, looks like that's my cue. I'll hopefully see you down there." As Kira ran to Miriallia, a tall and tanned blond walked over. "Who was that and who's the cute girl?"

"That was Kira, he's from Heliopolis. As for the girl, I don't know, probably his friend." Miguel explained. "Are we supposed to report to Commander le Creuset now?"

"Yes, Yzak and Rusty are already there, Matthew and Olor will be there soon, he's just waiting for you guys."

"Well I guess we shouldn't keep the Commander waiting, right Dearka?" Athrun said.

"Right."

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"So who were they?" Miriallia asked as they walked towards the ruins.

"A group of students from the PLANTs, they're the other group that was rumored to be here. They seem nice." Kira replied. Mir frowned. "So they're Coordinators?" she asked.

Kira slowed his pace. "What's wrong with that?" he asked darkly. Mir immediately regretted asking the question. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't think that a group of Coordinators would be down here on Earth with the tensions between the PLANTs and the Earth so high."

"It's not your fault; I asked them the same thing. I haven't seen another Coordinator since I left the moon." Kira informed her. "Another Coordinator?" she echoed, confused at his choice of words.

"That sounded weird to you as well? Sorry, I don't think my brain is awake yet." He chuckled. They neared their group as two older men at the front were talking. "On behalf of the Atlantic Federation Archeologist Society, we'd like to thank you all for attending this momentous occasion and welcome you all too former North America."

"I am Doctor Carl Ryan; I'm in charge of cataloguing the artifacts and exploring the ruins themselves." The slightly shorter of the two introduced himself.

"And I am Professor Cyril Ferguson, in charge of translating any text inside the ruins. Without much further ado, let's go inside the ruins. Doctor Ryan will explain a few rules that you must obey without question. They are for your own safety and for the preservation of any critical discoveries inside."

"First rule, do not go anywhere unsupervised. Between myself, Professor Ferguson and the number of student aides, one of us will be able to show you where any of the facilities are located. Second rule, do not touch anything that isn't marked. This is for all of our safety, these ruins are many centuries old, and I do not want any accidents. Third rule; don't be afraid to ask questions. We may not know everything about this place, but we'll do our best to help."

The first room they entered was the Main Hall, large and spacious. It seemed like any other ancient culture's main hall, enough room to gather a fair number of people and speak to them, and if needed mount a good defense. The archeologists used this place as their base of operations, having already set up communications equipment, a few tents and several tables, holographic displays and even some old white boards for brainstorming.

There were a fair number of people running around in here, muttering to themselves as they held coffee cups, assorted pastries or buns or scraps of paper. Carl and Cyril led them to the adjacent hallway, which led to a virtual maze of passages. "We've mapped probably less than ten percent of this place, mostly due to a lack of manpower. Slowly but surely we'll discover all of its secrets." Carl informed them.

The tour continued, just a basic overview of what was to come tomorrow on the more detailed tour. Their most crowning achievement was discovering an ancient book in nearly perfect condition. Several experts were working around the clock to decipher the text so all of the secrets could be learned. After several hours, the students were finally led back to the Main Hall.

"I'd like to thank you all for your participation, and I look forward to your return tomorrow, where we'll go into greater detail about the history of this place. I bid you all a good night." Cyril dismissed them.

On the surface, Kira ran into Athrun again. "Hey Kira." Athrun greeted his new friend. "Hey Athrun. Were you on the tour as well?" he didn't see any of the Coordinators down there with them.

"We had our own tour today. Tomorrow I think we're merging with your group." Athrun explained. Kira's face brightened a little. "Cool. Where are you all staying? All of my class is bunked in the Ramada Inn."

"That's our hotel as well. We've got rooms 205 to 210, and I'm in 207. What about you?"

"My friends and I are one the third floor. I've got room 325, so that means we're a floor up and on the other side of the building. But for a hotel that has seven floors, we're pretty close." Kira said.

The students began to board their buses to go back to the hotel for dinner and relaxation. "Listen, why don't you come over to my room at around 9, then I can introduce you to the rest of my tea … classmates." Athrun suggested.

"Sounds good." Kira waved goodbye as he stepped on the bus right behind Miriallia. He took his usual seat right beside his good friend. "So when's supper? I'm starving?" he wondered.

Miriallia groaned Kira would probably never change. Tolle echoed Kira's sentiments, and both of them hoped there would be good food available. In the end, neither of them actually cared what they piled on their plates, it was edible food to be consumed, and consumed it was. Rather voraciously too. Kira excused himself after dinner to go see his new friends in their rooms.

Eight people were already piled into room 207 by the time Kira knocked on the door. A gruff "who's there?" greeted him. "Uh … Kira. Kira Yamato." There was shuffling noises and a few curses before the door opened, revealing Athrun at the door and seven people in various sitting positions on the floor and beds.

"Kira, come in." Kira did so, closing the door behind him. Athrun introduced the people behind him. Yzak, Dearka and Nichol, then Rusty, Miguel, Olor and Matthew. Miguel, Olor and Matthew were a few years Athrun's senior, while Nichol was the youngest.

Yzak and Dearka were a little reserved as they talked with Kira, everyone else seemed more open, but Kira could tell that they were all keeping secrets, or one big one. For the moment he didn't care, he was among people who weren't condescending towards Coordinators, he felt at peace.

A slightly guilty feeling gnawed at him, reminding him that among others, Tolle and Miriallia wouldn't care if he was a Natural or a Coordinator, they were accepting people and he was glad to call them his friends. It was early in the morning by the time Kira returned to his room, Tolle was fast asleep.

They had talked about a lot of things, from the differences between an O'Neill Cylinder colony and a PLANT colony to how much different the Earth was from both types to amusing anecdotes from their childhood. The last topic they explored was just how far the archeologists would be delving into the ruins tomorrow.

From their short time inside the ruined temple, they all agreed that it a design no one had ever seen before. The text on the wall looked more alien than human, and the size of the rooms and corridors seemed to be far too large, even for royalty. "But we're not here for a project or an assignment, for us it's a vacation." Yzak had reminded them.

"It's the same for us, a reward for working so hard. We should leave the question answering to the paid experts and just have fun while we're here. It is possible that none of us may ever return to Earth again, and I don't want to waste more time than I have to." Kira had agreed.

"Speaking of time, I need to hit the sack, I'll see you guys at breakfast or the site. G'night." Miguel and Rusty were the first to leave; following them was Olor and Matthew, and then Yzak and Dearka.

Flopping on his bed, Kira stared at the ceiling, giving one last thought about the ancient ruins before falling asleep. He was awoken by a persistent shaking and words. "Kira, wake up. C'mon buddy, breakfast time! Food! Kira!" Tolle tried.

Not bothering to open his eyes, Kira flailed around to stop Tolle. "Alright, shut up already. I'll be there in a few minutes, go without me and save me a seat." Kira groaned, wishing the morning hadn't arrived so early.

"Are you sure buddy?" Tolle asked.

"Go." Kira commanded, rolling over on his side. Upon hearing the door shut with a satisfying click, he shook his head to try and clear it.

* * *

Tolle sat down in one of the chairs that had been saved for him with a heaping plate of food. "Thanks for the seat, I'm starving." Tolle said before digging into the mound of delicious food.

Miriallia eyed her friend. "Where's Kira? He's going to miss breakfast at this rate." Tolle shrugged as he continued to eat. "He told me he'd be along in a few minutes, so I went ahead."

"Is something wrong with him? Kira never misses breakfast, or lunch, or any chance to eat! Maybe he's sick." Miriallia wondered. Sai laughed. "I've never known Kira to miss a meal either, but I've never known him to get sick."

"Stop worrying Miriallia, I'm sure he'll be here soon." Tolle said, finishing his first plateful and standing up to get his second round. "I'm going to check on him." Miriallia decided.

"That won't be necessary." a voice said from behind her. Miriallia turned. "Kira!" Kira smiled. "Sorry for the wait. I hope there's something left for me." his stomach growled to reinforce the point. Miriallia smiled as she stood in line with her good friend. "You know, you actually had me worried that you'd be skipping a meal for the first time in your life."

"Me skip a meal? Not in this lifetime Miriallia Haw. Come hell or high water, no rain nor sleet nor snow shall keep me from my meals." Kira announced proudly, holding his plate up high. Miriallia giggled.

Between the several helpings that both Tolle and Kira took, there was very little food left at the end of the breakfast. Kira patted his stomach contently. "Now that was a breakfast."

An announcement crackled to life over the intercom system in the hotel. "The buses for the dig site will be leaving in 45 minutes."

"Good." Kira said. "Another 45 minutes for me to sleep." he started to walk back to his room but Miriallia latched onto his arm and followed him. "No more sleeping for you this morning. You almost skipped breakfast. A nice hot shower should get you going." Miriallia scolded him.

"So … you're coming along because you want to shower with me?" Kira asked, arching an eyebrow. He knew that Milly would do no such thing, but it was fun to tease her. Sure enough a mortified look settled on her face. "What? How … wait … when …" her ability to form a comprehensive sentence was gone for the moment.

"I'm teasing you. Unless of course you want to shower with me?" Her mortified expression remained plastered on her face, causing Kira to laugh. "Right, that's still a no. Well you can stay in my room if you're bored while I shower."

He took fifteen minutes to clean and dry himself. Stepping out of the bathroom clad in only a white towel wrapped around his waist, he ruffled through his bags looking for something to wear. Miriallia had seen Kira half-naked many times before, but never fresh from a shower.

She had to admit he looked good with his toned upper body. He and Tolle often went to the gym together to work out, and not until now did Milly know just how much he had developed. Standing up victoriously with clothes in hand, Kira smirked and then went back into the bathroom to change.

Emerging scant seconds later, this time fully clothed, he looked around for a clock. "How much time do we have left?" he asked. Mir looked at her watch. "I'd say about 20 minutes."

Kira nodded and then flopped onto his bed. "Sleep time." he said, closing his eyes. Miriallia rolled her eyes as Kira laced his fingers behind his head. His breathing became a steady pace, and it looked like he had actually fallen back asleep in his clothes. An evil idea entered her mind and she acted on it almost immediately.

As gracefully as a cat, Miriallia pounced, jumping from the bed she was sitting on to Kira's bed, landing on him completely. Expecting to hear a surprised groan from Kira, she was surprised herself when Kira suddenly had her trapped in his arms. "Going somewhere Miss Haw?" he asked, his eyes still closed.

Not giving her the chance to reply, Kira rolled over, trapping Miriallia on the bed, pinning both of her arms above her head. He lowered his head mere inches from hers and spoke in a quiet tone. "Are you wearing that to the dig site?" he asked, referring to her sweatpants and t-shirt.

It was certainly an odd question to ask given their current positions, and before Miriallia could reply, the door to Kira's room opened. "What the hell are you two doing?" Tolle asked, pausing at the doorway to witness the sight before him.

Kira immediately rolled off of Mir and consequently off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. Popping his head over the horizon of the bed, Kira eyed Tolle distastefully. "Don't you knock?"

It was then that Kira realized just how stupid his question was. Tolle was his roommate, and above that, he and Milly weren't doing anything. In response Tolle smiled and walked out, leaving Kira alone again with Miriallia. "Well, I'd better go change before we get on the bus. Save me a seat if I'm not there when you get on, okay?" Miriallia said, standing up.

Kira nodded, and then Milly left.

* * *

Thanks for all of the kind reviews, and I would like to address Kedima personally:

You mentioned liking the Kira/Miriallia pairing, so perhaps you could drop me a line?  
I realize your e-mail is in your profile, but I kept getting a sending error, so I'll leave a few ways to contact me:  
OttomanFIA(at)hotmail(dot)com (MSN Capable)  
PrayerReverie(at)yahoo(dot)com (soon to be YIM capable)

Thanks again to all of you, please read and Review,  
Until next time,  
Prayer


	3. The Awakening

Chapter 3: The Awakening

* * *

By the time Miriallia made it to the bus, Kira had already boarded as was now fast asleep in his seat. She took the seat he had saved for her and took the opportunity to study her friend a little closer. Kira was wearing a pair of black pants, baggy enough that he had the cuffs tucked into his black soft-soled boots. For a shirt, he wore a black muscle shirt. "Always napping." She muttered. 

The bus ride to the dig site was relatively short, and as it pulled up, Miriallia nudged Kira awake. "Wake up sleepy head, we're here." Kira groaned and stood, standing behind Miriallia. Simon apparently decided that the line was moving too slowly so he shouldered and elbowed his way up front, and in the process knocked Milly backwards.

As she fell back, a pair of strong arms caught her and she looked up to see Kira scowling at Simon's back as he grumbled. Miriallia noticed the line ahead of them clearing. "Uh Kira, I think we're holding up the people behind us." Wordlessly he set her on her feet and followed her outside to where the backpacks were being unloaded.

He hefted his out of the pile and walked off silently. Miriallia grabbed her own bag as she contemplated Kira's sudden and massive mood swing. Tolle grabbed his bag and looked at Kira's angry form. "What's wrong with him?" Miriallia couldn't answer.

They walked over as Carl and Cyril were explaining what the students would be doing today. "We are going to split you all up into two groups, one will follow Doctor Ryan to a chamber that is most likely their version of a prison, and the other group will follow me to their burial chambers."

As both men started to separate the groups, Kira dropped his bag to the ground and started to dig through it. He found what he was looking for and triumphantly held the object which looked similar to an arm brace. Kira was strapping it on as Athrun walked over. "Hey Kira." He greeted and then took notice of the thing strapped to Kira's arm. "What's that?"

Kira stood and put his backpack back on. "It's a computer." That got Athrun's interest and he motioned for Kira to continue. "It's got nothing on a good desktop, or even on a laptop, but it does have a 50 gig hard drive and just over 3 gigs of ram, along with two of the new 3.5 USB ports and an Ethernet card capable of receiving wireless signals. It has a built-in GPS system and an active mapping sensor capable of mapping an area that I'm in, and with the ability to project 3-d displays along with 2-d, I can choose how I look at things. With the mini-keyboard and shock-resistant case, I can do almost anything anywhere."

Athrun was absolutely amazed. He loved to tinker with machines and electronics on his spare time, but to build something like that, it was simply extraordinary. "Wow! Where did you find the time to do all of that? And where did you get your hands on those USB ports? I've looked everywhere but I could never find any for a reasonable price!" he exclaimed.

"Trade secret." Kira smiled. "We built it during our electronics class, me and a few friends and I did most of the programming myself." He managed to explain just as the Professor and the Doctor got to their names.

As it turned out, Kira, Athrun and Matthew were in Professor Cyril's group heading to the burial chambers while Miriallia, Tolle, Sai, Kuzzey, Simon, Flay, Nichol, Dearka, Yzak, Rusty, Miguel and Olor were in with Doctor Carl. The rest of the students in his group Kira barely knew, and in total honesty could care less, and the feeling was more than likely mutual.

Kira typed in a few commands on mini-keyboard and then closed the display. The students separated into their respective groups, but before Doctor Ryan started to lead his group, Kira gently grabbed Miriallia's arm to get her attention. "I'll see you at lunch, okay?" he asked softly.

She smiled genuinely and nodded. "I'd like that." She rejoined her group as they went first down into the ruins. Professor Ferguson started his own group down, informing the students that they could leave their backpacks in the Main Hall, but he also advised them to bring along a jacket. "It can get a little chilly in there, and it's better to be safe than sorry." He reasoned.

Descending the steps leading to the Main Hall, Kira took one last look at the bright blue sky and noticed the black clouds forming on the distant horizon. Shrugging in indifference, he followed his group to start the tour.

Athrun set his back down and grabbed a coat as Matthew set his pack down and took out a sweater. Kira dropped his pack like the others but grabbed a deep red cloak and swung it around onto his shoulders and secured it, leaving the hood down.

As they continued on, their light source began to dim and the occasional drops of water could be heard. It was damp and dark and more than a bit chilly, forcing all of the students except Athrun, Kira and Matthew to don their coats or sweaters. The three of them were at the back of the group, and Athrun and Matthew were chatting quietly.

"_Kiiiiiirraaaaaa …_" something hissed, causing Kira's hand to twitch violently.

Kira looked around, narrowing his eyes in suspicion, but saw nothing other than dank walls. "Did you guys here something?" he asked to Athrun and Matthew. Both of them shook their heads and then continued their conversation.

"_I know you can hear usssssssss …_" it spoke again.

"You didn't hear that?" Athrun rolled his eyes and ignored Kira. He inspected the walls a little closer, seeing only the worn stone and odd shadows being cast on them.

Continuing their travel down the corridor, a flash of motion caught Kira's eye so he turned to see it. Something had gotten his attention, but the other students continued on, oblivious to whatever it was. Kira raised his hand and slowly walked towards the wall now in front of him. Mere inches from the wall; he hesitated, but then extended his arm to the wall.

It passed right through the stone his eyes saw. Shocked, he pulled his hand back quickly and took another step towards the wall. It looked like it was real, like it was there, but he thrust his hand through and met with no resistance. Steeling himself, he stepped through and emerged in an even darker and small hallway.

"What is this place?" he whispered to no one.

"_Heelllllllppppppp ussssssssss …_" it whispered.

The hallway was short and it led him to a room that was, if possible, even darker than the hallway. "Woah." He breathed, taking careful steps while looking around. Finally, an object registered in his mind and he crooked his head as he examined it. It was an outstretched hand, fingers poised like they were about to grasp or choke something.

Kira brushed his fingers along the hand. "Cold." He muttered. It wasn't too surprising given the temperature in this room. He felt the fingers and suddenly and quickly withdrew his hand as his forefinger and middle finger ran over the thing's finger nails.

"Sharp." He said, watching with detached interest as blood slowly seeped out of the cuts on his fingers. Moving past the arm, he realized there was an entire body going along with the arm. "This is too realistic looking to be carved from anything. Maybe whatever it was got mummified …"

Whatever it was, short it was not. The chest was just at Kira's head height, and he could see a gaping hole in it. "That looks painful." He reached out again to touch the chest, not remembering he had cut his fingers. Tracing around the edges of the gruesome wound, he noticed that he could see the being's organs. Fingers traveled into the gouge and brushed against what had to be the heart if the being was similar to human anatomy.

He could feel some warmth from the heart and suddenly realized that he was still bleeding. "Way to go Yamato." He berated himself, wiping the excess blood from his fingers on his pant legs.

"Kira!" someone called out.

"Oh shit! The tour!" he retraced his steps and entered the main hallway just as Athrun and Cyril came into view.

"Mister Yamato! Where the hell did you wander off to?" Cyril demanded.

"Sorry!" Kira apologized, running to meet them. "Had to make a pitstop." He said sheepishly.

"Never do that again without asking permission."

Had Kira stayed for just a few seconds longer to examine the head, he would have seen the mouth, once frozen and contorted in a gruesome and painful way, slowly shift into something that could only be described as a feral grin.

* * *

Both groups made it back to the Main Hall at about the same time for lunch, and the students would swap guides and explore the either the prison or the burial chamber after lunch, whichever the group hadn't yet seen. Emerging from the hallway, Kira saw Miriallia waiting for him and waved to her cheerfully. 

"Athrun!" a feminine voice called out and a fast moving flash of pink quickly embraced the stunned boy. "Lacus? What are you doing here?" he asked, obviously perplexed. She looked up with a hurt expression.

"Did you forget already that I signed up to lead one of the tours later on today?" she asked him with a pout on her lips. Athrun scratched his head nervously. "I guess I did. I'm sorry Lacus; it must have completely slipped my mind."

Yzak and Olor came over. "Miss Clyne." Yzak greeted formally, even bowing in respect. Olor took a slightly less formal route. "Miss Lacus" he said, tossing off a casual salute.

She giggled and let go of Athrun. "I've told you both many times to drop the formality, we're friends, you can call me Lacus, I don't mind, in fact I prefer it." And then she caught notice of Kira, in all of his violet-eyed and scraggly dark brown haired glory, his muscle shirt revealing nicely developed biceps and triceps. "And who is this?" she asked him.

"I'm Kira, Kira Yamato from Heliopolis." He introduced himself, taking notice of her long white jacket with golden trimming and the short kimono-like purple and pink skirt.

"Oh my, I'm Lacus Clyne, from the PLANTs." She giggled again as he gently kissed her offered hand. Athrun interrupted. "Come on, we'll miss all of the lunch if we don't hurry."

Once again, the prospect of food captured all of Kira's attention and he made his way to join Miriallia and Tolle, both of whom were waiting for him. "He's a cutie." Lacus told Athrun, and then linked her arm in his. "Now what was that about lunch?" As they walked towards the food, Athrun caught sight of Rau Le Creuset, and the masked man with long blond hair nodded slowly to Athrun.

Catching up with Miriallia and Tolle, Kira apologized. "Sorry for making you wait, what's for lunch?" Tolle looked thoughtful for a second. "That is a very good question that can only be answered by looking."

"Who was that?" Miriallia asked quietly. Kira looked at her oddly. "Huh? Oh, you mean Lacus. She's one of Athrun's friends from the PLANTs."

"So how was the burial chamber?" Tolle asked, curious to know how good his afternoon would be. "It was different, I'm more than a little glad we don't use the same practices as they did. How was the prison?"

"It was neat! All sorts of cool little tools and things like that!" Tolle replied enthusiastically. Miriallia had a more somber answer. "It wasn't neat Tolle, it was disgusting. I bet if you lived with them and committed a crime you'd think it was horrible too."

Lunch was simple, consisting mainly of sandwiches and some cut vegetables and dip. When the remains were cleaned up, Professor Cyril took the other group down to the burial chambers while Doctor Ryan took Athrun, Kira, Matthew and the others to the prison.

"As you can see this society kept everything neatly organized, every tool and implement within a second's reach and all of them designed for maximum pain while doing the least amount of bodily damage."

There were four slabs of stone raised to about mid-chest level, all big enough to fit almost two humans, and there were the small tables beside the slabs with the tools neatly arranged. Along one was were many shackles, made out of some unknown metal, and they were still gleaming like they had been cleaned just the day before. Off to another side was a deep circular pit at least seven meters in circumference with several large and menacing spikes planted in the bottom and hanging two feet above the pit was a metal bar which could at one point be raised or lowered.

Lacus wandered over to look at the pit as Athrun and Matthew looked at the various torture tools and tried to imagine just how they would work. Kira moved from place to place, trying not to attract the attention of Doctor Ryan like he had Professor Ferguson.

The sound of pebbles falling caught his attention and he turned his head in the direction of the noise, which was the pit Lacus was standing over. Sure enough, one of the stones she was standing on became dislodged and she let out a strangled gasp of surprise as she lost her footing and fell.

"Lacus!" Athrun screamed from across the room, running as fast as he could to catch her, but he wouldn't be able to make it in time, she was going to fall and more than likely be impaled on one of those spikes.

Kira whipped off his cloak and took a running jump from where he was standing, making it look like he was going to do a belly flop into the pit, but his arm right arm shot up and grabbed the pole suspended over the pit and his left hand grabbed one of Lacus' flailing arms. "Gotcha." He grunted as his body was pulled in opposite directions.

Lacus held on tightly and managed to bring her other hand up to grab a hold of his wrist. Kira looked down at Lacus, and then focused on the bottom of the pit which was more than 15 feet away from the bottom of Lacus' feet. Then he looked around the top of ledge as Athrun and the other students gathered around.

"Are you okay Kira?" he asked. "Just peachy." Kira replied, still looking around. "We're enjoying the sights down here." Finally he stopped looking around and looked directly at Athrun. "Get ready."

Tightening his muscles, he brought Lacus up to his height. "Hold onto me tightly." She obeyed, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. His hand sneaked its way up and grabbed the front of her clothes. "I hope this is strong material. When I say, you have to let go of me, okay?" Lacus nodded, but she was unsure of what he planned to do.

"Ready …" he said quietly as he began to pull himself up with his right arm. He paused mid-way up and then shouted "Now!" and pulled himself up with his right arm quickly and then as soon as he felt Lacus let go he threw her over the top of the ledge and into Athrun, who caught her and fell onto his back to make sure they didn't fall back in.

"Got you." Athrun said to Lacus.

Seeing that Lacus was safe, Kira lowered himself so his arm was straight and then grabbed hold of the bar with his left as well. Saving only one person was far easier than trying to save two, so when Kira pulled himself up, he shot upwards and performed a back flip to clear the ledge and landed with practiced ease.

"Are you okay Lacus?" he asked her. She stood and bowed gracefully. "Yes I am, thank you very much for saving me."

Kira picked up his cloak and put back on. Carl addressed his student group. "It's about time we started back, I'm sure many of you are anxious for your evening meal. I want to personally thank you all for being patient and attentive, and I really hope that you've learned at least three things from today."

Lacus learned certainly learned three things today, one, Kira was cute, two, Kira was fast, and three, Kira was strong. The short walk back to the Main Hall was rather uneventful, save for Athrun and Matthew not leaving Lacus alone as they walked. Once both groups were reunited, they all walked out to the buses, noticing the difference in the weather from the morning.

It was dark, cloudy and windy. Thunder could be heard from a distance and lightning could be seen striking out. Halfway to the parked buses it started to rain, the winds driving the rain down. "Back to the temple!" Ron ordered. The students didn't hesitate and fled back to the warmth and dryness of the Main Hall.

Being one of the last people to enter the temple again, Kira took a look at the parked buses in time to see lightning strike down and hit the engine of one bus, setting it aflame; the fire quickly spreading through the fuel line. "No! The buses!" he cried out.

It was too late; the first bus exploded dramatically, the fire and shrapnel spreading everywhere. "Inside! Now!" Ron had to drag Kira away from the entrance even as another explosion was heard.

The researchers and the aides came running at the sound of the first explosion, demanding to know what was going on. "We'll have to stay the night, hopefully the storm will clear up overnight and we can send some people back to the hotel for more buses." Ron said, trying to calm the delicate staff down.

The researchers were used to sleeping in the temple and thus were prepared for it, with sleeping bags and pillows for themselves. The students were caught pretty much with their pants down, and were not even considering the possibility of staying the night in conditions such as these.

Of all the people, Rau was standing beside a large storage container passing out grey blankets to the students. The other students from the PLANTs, Lacus included, were maintaining order throughout the lines, assuring the frightened students that things would be okay and that there were enough blankets for them all.

It seemed so … militaristic. Behind Le Creuset were several more crates stacked neatly. Miriallia returned from the line with her blanket and looked at Kira. "Are you going to get a blanket? The Professor says that it can get really cold in here at night." Kira nodded. "I'll go get one in a second." He groaned in pain and clutched his head, stumbling forward a few feet before Miriallia supported him. "Kira! What's wrong?" there was no mistaking the concern in her voice.

"It's … it's nothing. Just an eventful day, that's all." He told her, managing to stand straight again. "I'm fine, really." He wiped the small amount of sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand. Miriallia grabbed his hand. "Where did you get these cuts?" she asked, pointing to the healing cuts on his forefinger and middle finger.

He looked at them with curiosity. "You know, I can't remember, but it must have been today because I swear they weren't there yesterday." He shrugged. "Oh well, it's not like they'll be there in the morning."

Kira fetched his blanket as Miriallia picked out a more private spot for them to sleep. She was trying to decide how best to position the blanket so that it could cover both her and the floor. Kira walked over and tossed his blanket on the floor and then took off his cloak and handed it to her. "Sleep on this, and you can use the blanket to cover yourself." He offered. She gratefully took it and laid down to rest. "Thank you."

He spread out his own blanket and then moved it right beside hers and flopped down as well. "Sleep well." He said fondly as her eyes closed. Soon after Kira fell asleep as well, but his sleep was restless and haunted by images and sounds.

"_Weeeee … have awakened …_" images flashed too fast for Kira to comprehend what they were. "No …" he whispered.

"_Weeee … have sssssurvived …_" one image focused a little more than the rest, showing him the same gruesome form that he had seen in the hidden room. "No." he mumbled again with a little more force.

"_Your friendsssssss will be oursssssss …_" Kira easily recognized the next images; it was Sai, Tolle, Flay, Kuzzey and all of the students from the PLANTs. In his sleep, Kira gritted his teeth and growled out a "no."

"_And her …_" the last image was of Miriallia, looking frightened and cowering in a corner. Kira's eyes snapped open. "NO!" he sat up quickly and a cool hand placed itself on his shoulder. "Kira, what's wrong?"

Slowly his vision focused on Miriallia, also sitting up and looking very worried. His breathing came in a slow form of hyperventilation. Sweat dripped off his brow as he struggled to comprehend his dreams. Milly wrapped her arms around his chest to try and calm him down. "It's okay Kira, everything will be fine." She soothed.

His breathing came under a better form of control and she let him go and looked at him again. "I … it's too hot in here." he stood up shakily. "Fresh air …" Miriallia jumped up after him. "It's still raining out there!"

Kira didn't care; he stumbled to the temple entrance and let his head become soaked by the pouring water which was like a waterfall over the entrance. He pulled his head back and ran his hand through his hair, getting some of the water out. "Much better." He said, facing Miriallia.

It was then he took his first good look at what she was wearing. It was an orange dress with sleeves that left her shoulders bare but covered her arms, the skirt portion stopping just below her knees, and a pair of white knee length socks with tiny orange bows to cover the rest of her legs. Even with the worried look on her face, she looked absolutely beautiful.

'_I am such an inattentive idiot some days_' he thought to himself. "I'm fine." He announced before she could ask. "I promise." Miriallia didn't say anything but instead continued to look at him with sad eyes.

Kira looked down at the stone floor and then back up at her. "Can I … I need to tell you something." He started. "What is it?" she asked. He took a deep breath. "I've carried this knowledge, this secret around all of my life. You're the first person to know."

"You can trust me Kira, I'm your friend." She assured him. Kira nodded in relief. "I'm a Coordinator."

The silence hung in the air, thick enough to be cut with a knife. And then light laughter could be heard. "That's it? That's your big secret?" Miriallia asked, trying to hold in her laughter. "What do you mean 'that's it'?" he asked confusedly.

She controlled her giggling and looked up at him. "I was expecting something big like 'I'm gay' or 'I was once a girl', not this." She spoke with absolute sincerity. "I wouldn't care if you were a Natural, you're still Kira Yamato, my friend and nothing will change that."

'_Nothing but friends?_' Kira quickly pushed that thought aside. Miriallia had just accepted him no matter what he was. "I'm glad you're my friend Milly." He drew her into a hug. "I'm glad you're my friend too Kira." She said, returning the hug.

They both turned to go back inside the Main Hall, only to see their friends a few feet away. Tolle had a betrayed look, Flay was hiding behind Sai who had a sad look, Kuzzey looked like he couldn't care less and Simon … Simon had a predatory smile.

"Hi guys." Kira greeted uncertainly.

* * *

And the third chapter is up. I apologize if you were looking forward to another session of V90, but my OS on my desktop computer (the one will all of the V90 stuff) crashed, rendering it to be a very large paper weight. In the meantime I will continued with Icess, and in a few days I'll be sending in an order for a new computer. 

Until then,  
Prayer

P.S. Please Read and Review.


	4. The Sundering

Chapter 4: The Sundering

* * *

"So … what are you all doing up?" Kira asked. 

"You know I can't sleep when it's raining." Tolle said snappily.

"Neither of us are used to sleeping on hard cold rock." Sai said, motioning to Flay and himself.

Kuzzey shrugged and Simon just continued to smile. Kira glanced at all of them. "Ah, okay then."

Simon broke the awkward silence. "You know, I always suspected, but I could never prove anything, you were always so clumsy that I began to doubt myself. I see that was a mistake. Well, ta ta!" he walked off, grinning victoriously back into the Main Hall.

Sai sighed. "I'll go make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." As he turned, Flay turned with him, apparently unwilling to face Kira on her own anymore. "Thanks Sai." Kira said.

"I'll go with him." Kuzzey volunteered and walked off as well, leaving only Tolle to stare at Kira and Milly. "Look, Tolle, I –" Kira started.

"Don't start that Kira, I thought being your friend meant something. I thought our friendship meant we could trust each other, no matter what. I'm disgusted that you would try and lump me in with all of those people who can't accept others for who they are or what they are."

By this point Kira couldn't look his friend in the eye. "I'm sorry Tolle, but-"

Tolle cut him off again. "But what? Man, I don't care what you are, you're my friend and it wouldn't have made a damn difference if you were a Natural."

"Try living on my side of things! Never sure if people will accept you or shun you, or worse, attack you. Even living in a neutral colony doesn't solve everything; people share the same views everywhere." Kira countered, letting off some steam.

Tolle didn't respond, he just walked off. Kira held his head in his palm in defeat. "Hey, cheer up. Tolle will cool off by the time morning rolls around, so stop beating yourself up over it." Miriallia said sympathetically, making Kira look at her. "I can understand where you're coming from as well, being the minority, even in neutral colony, can be scary."

"You always were the understanding and patient one of the group."

Miriallia looked at him proudly. "Comes with the territory. Now we should go back inside, I'm not sure what time it is, but it's probably way too early to be having conversations." Kira smiled and followed her back to their blankets.

As they were walking, Kira could hear two people whispering, and it sounded like Flay and Sai. "What's gotten into you Flay?" Sai asked.

"I don't know, I mean I know Kira is a nice guy, but all my life I've heard nothing good about Coordinators thanks to my father. Now I'm confused." Flay replied.

"Kira wouldn't do anything to hurt anyone on purpose unless they deserved it, being a nice guy is just who he is."

"But who knows how many other Coordinators are living on Heliopolis, fitting in like Naturals?"

Kira heard a deep sigh, probably from Sai. "Why should that bother anyone? We're all human."

He missed the reply, having walked too far away, now at his 'bed'. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, he felt his fingers twitch violently again. Kira stared at them and blinked once. As his eyes opened his hands were holding a high-powered machine gun, and the sounds of other guns being fired could be heard.

Looking up, he saw Athrun and Nichol ahead of him, laying down covering fire for Rusty and Olor as the two of them retreated. "Maintain Covering Fire!" Athrun ordered, and Kira instinctively moved forward and opened fire, squeezing the trigger for multiple 3-round bursts.

Athrun pulled a stick out of his backpack, and at the end of the stick was a grenade. He flipped the safety off and flicked another switch, letting the trigger pop out. "Fire in the Hole!" he warned and then fired the RPG.

Olor and Rusty managed to make it behind the makeshift cover as the rest of them ducked to shield themselves from the exploding grenade. "Back to the Hall, go go go!" Rusty and Olor shot to their feet and started to run, their rifles at the ready. Nichol followed and then Athrun, with Kira being last.

Feral noises could be heard from behind them and Kira turned just in time to see a shape emerge from the rubble and start its charge. "Incoming!" he warned, and then opened fire, the bullets hitting the shape as it continued to approach even faster.

It swiped at Kira and he dodged, sliding backwards on his back and continuing the fire. The thing finally went down just as Kira's clip went dry. A hand extended itself over Kira, and he gratefully took it, standing up again. "Good job." Athrun said.

Kira looked at Athrun's eyes, and then focused on his reflective safety glasses. He stared at his reflection. "Kira? What's wrong? Kira?"

Gradually the voice shifted into a more feminine tone and Kira became aware of being gently shaken. "Kira? Wake up. Come on Kira, its breakfast time." Miriallia said, struggling to wake her friend.

It felt like his eyelids creaked open, and he slowly sat up. "I'm awake, I'm awake." He said tiredly. Standing up to stretch, he felt his bones and joints pop from sleeping awkwardly. "That had to be the worst night's sleep I've ever had." He groaned.

"A little food and coffee will cure that." Tolle said, walking up to the two of them. Kira instantly turned. "Tolle." He said with a hint of surprise. "Look man, I'm sorry about last night and-"

Tolle waved it off. "Don't worry about it too much. I can understand just how hard it was for you, and I could tell just how bad you felt about it as well. Besides, right now we have things to concentrate on that are more important. Manson said it's still raining out there, just as heavy if not worse than before."

"So what's for breakfast?" Miriallia sighed, Kira would never change.

The eight male students from the PLANTs were gathered around Rau, while Lacus was off eating. "We're in a precarious position here. If it comes down to the worst case scenario, we are only nine to either defend or attack more than 150 people. We have enough armaments to supply almost two full squads. Suggestions?"

"Sir, I suggest we continue to recon this temple and be prepared for the worst." Rusty said.

"No shit genius." Yzak muttered under his breath. "Did you have a suggestion Yzak?" Rau asked calmly. Yzak lowered his head. "No sir, I don't."

Athrun volunteered. "We might not be as alone as we think. Perhaps if we managed to recruit some help from the others …"

"Anyone in particular you have in mind Athrun? I think it would be best if you brought one aboard first, to show them how." Rau prodded.

"I already have a recruit in mind sir."

Kira was sitting, his back leaning against a wall, staring at where the two cuts on his fingers were. Miriallia came over and sat down, mimicking his position. "What are you up to?" she asked.

"Pondering. I still can't remember where I got those cuts from, it's a little creepy." He replied. She knocked him lightly in the shoulder. "Don't force it; it'll come back sooner or later."

"Kira, we need to talk." Athrun said, having approached silently. Milly jumped a little in surprise whereas Kira just looked up calmly. "About what?" Athrun looked at Miriallia, and then back at Kira. "Alone if possible."

Mir got up to leave but Kira held her down. "Whatever you have to say to me, she can hear it as well, I know I can trust her." Miriallia looked at her friend in shock, and Athrun continued.

"Very well then. Kira, I'm offering you the chance to defend your friends it comes to that." He said bluntly.

"Defend us from what? A lot of us are only teenagers, it's not like we're going to start a revolt or anything." Milly asked.

"Look, it probably won't ever come to that, but the Commander and I agree that it's best to be prepared."

"Commander?" Kira asked.

"What the hell is this Le Creuset!" someone yelled from across the room. Students gathered around the commotion, anxious to see what would happen. Kira shouldered his way through the growing crowd with Miriallia right behind him and stopped when he saw the eight boys standing in front of Rau.

"Well?" Cyril demanded again, motioning to the open crates, full of weapons. Kira stared at them; they looked all-too similar to the one he wielded in his dream. "Allow me to explain." Rau said calmly. "These eight fine young men are not only students; they are also graduates from the ZAFT military academy."

"The Earth Alliance Government would have never allowed you or them to step foot on Earth soil had they known this Le Creuset. You are in a direct violation of the treaty set between the Earth and the PLANTs." Cyril countered.

"Perhaps so, but the fact remains that we are here, and until this storm abates we will continue to be here, along with you."

'_So this is what Athrun meant._' Kira thought. Carl stepped forward. "Perhaps if we started on our ways, and resume the tour as was planned for today. It would at least occupy our minds for a while." He suggested.

"I don't believe splitting everyone up is a good idea Doctor Ryan." Rau said. Cyril was furious. "And why not?"

"This temple has not been properly scouted, nor do we know who or what inhabited it. I believe it is too dangerous."

"Well you and your students are free to stay behind, but anyone else who wants to see more of the temple is free to come along." Cyril offered.

Kira decided to stay behind, while Miriallia, Tolle and Kuzzey went with the group. Flay, Sai and Simon also stayed behind, but Kira kept his distance, still wary of Simon. The nine other Coordinators students remained behind, which offered Kira some solace. He sat back against the same wall he was leaning on earlier, staring at his fingers again, trying to remember.

Soft spoken voices reached his enhanced hearing, and he could tell that they were from Simon, Flay and Sai. "I can honestly say that I've learned one thing on this trip at least." Simon started.

"Come off it Simon, I really don't want to hear this again." Sai protested. Flay added her voice to the mix. "It was boring the first time you told us, and this time won't make it any better."

"Yeah, but …" Simon started to say something else but at this point, Kira just ignored him and stood up. He walked over to Athrun and the rest of them. "Need any help?"

* * *

"So we've already shown you the Main Hall, which you had the pleasure of sleeping in last night, and the prison chambers and the burial chambers. I think perhaps we should pay a visit to what their Library." Carl suggested. 

"A library? How can their still be books after all this time?" Tolle asked. Carl smiled. "The techniques used to preserve paper are on par with ours, assuming we still used paper. And if you remember, we did find that volume earlier this month."

On the way to the Library, the students and Carl passed through a large room filled with human bones and in the center of the room was a pit of acid, with the only way to cross it being over a single stone bridge in the center. There had to be thousands of bodies thrown everywhere, piled in corners and around the pool itself.

"Well this wasn't in the report." Carl said, flipping through the pages on his clipboard. He started to lead the students over the bridge, and as they walked, one of the skeletons fell into the pool of acid.

The smell of rapidly burning bone was almost too much for Miriallia. "Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick."

She managed to bear the stench and Doctor Ryan opened the doors to the Library, revealing not a normal book-filled library like one might expect, especially with the recovered volume currently sitting in the Main Hall, but instead the walls were covered with human flesh, and on that flesh were the markings of their language.

Mir didn't even have a chance to voice her queasiness; she barely managed to turn away as she vomited and she wasn't the only one. Several more students followed her motions, and even Tolle could barely keep the bile down. Some of the students ran back out of the Library of Flesh, but Carl barely noticed.

"This was definitely not in the reports." He said, staring at some of the script. It seemed to be different from the writing found in the book, something that seemed far more recognizable. Two and two and 38 came together in his mind "Oh shit." He muttered.

He turned to his students. "Back to the Main Hall everyone, I think we've seen enough for a while." The students gladly obeyed, rather grateful that they wouldn't have to find anything even more disturbing, assuming it was out there.

Carl walked faster than he normally did, barely stopping himself from bolting into a dead run, the students struggling to keep up with their queasy stomachs. It wasn't just some ancient civilization of humans they were dealing with, it was far worse. The only thing in Carl's mind was the urge to go faster.

* * *

Kira sat with Lacus, cleaning some of the rifles to ensure that nothing would jam if they were forced to use weapons. She was an intriguing girl, full of life and innocence, and always looking on the bright side of things. 

She laughed at his jokes, blushed at his compliments and generally enjoyed the time they spent together There was no way he could deny that she was pretty, she had a lot of the students drooling after her, but he couldn't say that she was the prettiest or the smartest. "So what are you taking in college?" Lacus asked.

Kira swabbed the barrel of the X50 with rubbing alcohol, looking at the tiny reflection of his face. "I'm really not entirely sure, but it'll have something to do with programming, it comes naturally to me."

"You know, there's a big demand for qualified programmers and assemblers on the PLANTs, particularly on Aprilius One, my home PLANT." She told him. "Is that so?" he mused.

Kira looked down the sight of the rifle and then set it aside and grabbed a new one to start cleaning. Lacus had similarly finished cleaning hers and set it down, moving to pick up a new one. There was only one left and their hands laced together by accident. Blushing lightly, Lacus immediately withdrew her hand and apologized.

Not seeing the big deal, Kira merely shrugged and grabbed the rifle to start cleaning it. "You can probably start taking these back to the Commander, I'll only be a few minutes." He suggested.

Olor and Miguel watched from a small distance away as Kira broke the rifle down with practiced ease. "He's got the speed for sure; it looks like he's barely trying." Olor noted. "Had he joined ZAFT, he would have easily graduated in the Elite section, like Athrun's squad and Rusty." Miguel agreed.

Finishing reassembling and cleaning the last X50, Kira set it back into the padded container and closed the lid, picking it up and placing it with the others. He was going to inform Rau that the rifles were all ready to go when Doctor Ryan entered the Main Hall, looking worried, and lagging behind the aging man were many queasy looking students, including Miriallia, being supported in between Tolle and Kuzzey.

"Miriallia! What happened?" Kira asked, rushing forward to help support her. Just as Kira got to them, Tolle collapsed to his knees, desperately trying to hold his breakfast. "It was nasty Kira, you should be glad you stayed behind." Kuzzey said simply, letting go of Milly, forcing Kira to pick up completely.

Her vision focused on Kira's worried face. "Kira?" she asked weakly. "I'm here." He reassured her, walking over to where their blankets were. She rolled her head onto his shoulder. "Don't leave me."

There was still some commotion, mainly caused by Doctor Ryan and Professor Ferguson which attracted many, if not all, of the aides working in the Main Hall. They all clustered around a white board near the large book. Carl Ryan had a felt marker in his hand ready to be used to write underneath the symbols copied onto the board.

Kira had taken a look at the board while the students were away on their tour earlier in the day, and it had read 'The Tale of Isis, Goddess of the Damned'. He could hear Carl mutter and when the Doctor stepped back, Kira was in the right place to see the new words. It read 'The Legend of Icess, the Queen of the Forsaken.'

"Why Icess and not Isis?" one of the aides asked.

"Isis was an Egyptian Goddess, claiming titles like 'Queen of the Gods and Goddesses'. She was also worshipped in Heliopolis under the name of Menhet. Her tale can be found in Egypt and the surrounding area, but not in North America." Cyril replied.

"So who was Icess?" the same aide asked.

"A monster." Carl whispered.

"Did you know that some of your students are missing?" Rau asked, interrupting their little gathering.

"What?" Cyril's head whipped around to face Rau as the masked Commander stepped forward. "Take a count; I believe at least 10 are missing since your little tour this morning."

"Oh god!" Manson said trying to do a quick head count.

"We've got to go look for them." Carl said. "I agree, but I believe you and your students should not be part of the search." Rau informed them.

"And why the hell not Le Creuset?" Cyril demanded.

Kira, who was gently soothing Milly, stopped. "Stay here, I'll be back." He whispered to her. She could only moan gently as he lowered her down and stood up.

"You might lose more of them. I suggest that we leave the search and rescue operations to my squads."

"You son of a bitch, you think that nine people can effectively search a temple of this size?" Cyril argued.

"Of course not, and not all of us will be searching either. I, Olor and Matthew will be staying behind just in case." Rau told them.

"Even better!" Cyril yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "Six kids instead of nine!"

"My squads have the experience and the equipment to properly carry out a search and rescue, but any volunteers would be put to good use I assure you." Rau said.

"Volunteers?" Cyril asked dangerously. "No one in their right mind would volunteer for this or for you and -"

"I volunteer." Kira interrupted.

Rau smiled. "That was only a fluke Rau!" Cyril argued. "Don't expect it to happen aga-"

"I volunteer as well." Tolle interrupted. He looked at his shocked friend. "What? There's got to be something I can do, no matter how small." He justified to Kira.

"Me too." Miriallia managed to speak as she walked up and leaned on Kira heavily.

"Well then, it seems that we have a change of plans. Olor will head out with the search teams while I, Kira, and these two stay behind." Rau changed his orders.

"Sir." Athrun spoke up. "I believe it would be best if Kira joined the search parties. He has the instincts of a trained soldier, able to choose and act under pressure and he has the technical assets."

"That's pretty high praise Kira. Alright then, Kira and Olor will join the rescue teams. You two will remain behind. What are your names?" Rau asked.

"I'm Tolle, Tolle Koenig."

"Miriallia Haw."

"Good. Split into pairs and get your equipment. Send reports every fifteen minutes and when you find something of interest." The boys saluted their commander and ran over to the equipment containers.

Athrun handed Kira a combat vest and a pair of safety glasses, a 10mm handgun and one of the rifles that had been cleaned earlier. "The rifle can attach to the clip on the vest, making it easier to carry around." Athrun explained and then handed several spare clips for the handgun and the rifle along with extra shells for the secondary shotgun mode.

He went through a brief explanation on how to reload each weapon and basic pointers on how to shoot. Kira noted the stick on Athrun's back, and asked about it. "That's a Sturm Faust, basically a single shot rocket propelled grenade. Flip the safety cover up, press the button, the trigger pops out below, take aim and fire."

Yzak and Dearka, Rusty and Olor, Miguel and Nichol, and Athrun and Kira finally ready and suited up. "Remember, locate and retrieve the students and bring them back here, nothing stupid and no heroics, you understand."

"Sir yes sir!"

"Then you have a go."

The booted steps of eight young men could be heard, jogging away in search of the missing students, their numbers confirmed to be twelve. "Cyril still doesn't agree with this Commander Rau." Ron said, stepping beside the blond man.

"He doesn't have to." Rau replied, staring at the end of the corridor where the search teams disappeared out of sight. "All he has to do is pray for the safety of your students."

* * *

Took me long enough eh? Well you know about V90 being delayed thanks to my OS crashing, and it turns out I forgot to transfer my partially completed version of chapter 4 to my laptop, forcing me to recreated a few pages. 

But fear not, it's here now. Please Read and Review.

Prayer


	5. The Rise of the Forsaken

Chapter 5: Rise of the Forsaken

* * *

Simon sat across from Flay and Sai, the red-haired girl leaning comfortably on Sai. "So why do you think that only Coordinators are participating on this search and rescue?" Simon asked. 

"If you didn't notice, both Tolle and Miriallia volunteered." Sai replied, trying not to roll his eyes. Simon smiled. "I noticed that, but you'll notice that they stayed behind with two Coordinators while eight other Coordinators went ahead."

"Kira is with them too." Flay said. "And Kira is a Coordinator too." Simon replied lightly.

Sai had enough. "Simon, for the last time, leave it alone." Simon held his hand up in defense. "Just listen to me, this is different."

Simon interpreted the silence from his classmates in front of him as a signal to continue. "So you know about the trade embargo the Earth Alliance government has placed on the PLANTs right? Well even being a neutral colony, Heliopolis is affected as well. Orb has been having a hard time sending stuff other than basic supplies."

It was basic knowledge that they had all learned years earlier. "Well among the things difficult to procure are jewels and valuables. A lot of these old temples have heaping piles of gold and jewelry, just waiting to be claimed."

"That's also considered theft; the Earth Alliance would probably hang you for that." Sai interrupted.

"Only if they catch us. Now back on topic. The prices for any valuables on the PLANTs are probably outrages with the low supply and high demand. Don't you think it's just a little odd that a team of eight armed ZAFT academy graduates are here with their commander? I think they're planning on taking everything even remotely valuable in this temple and take it back to the PLANTs."

"But what about the missing students? They actually are missing you know." Flay pointed out.

"Well, there are two explanations for it. The first and least likely, the 'missing' students are in on it, trying to help the Coordinators locate the stockpiles. The second and far more plausible one, the students happened upon the stockpiles and now that masked Commander over there wants to keep them quiet, so he sent out his people to 'rescue' them."

"That has to be the most ludicrous load of bullshit I've ever heard from you Simon." Sai stated.

"Think about if for a second. Sai, you could be the pimpinest dude on Heliopolis, gold chains, rings, everything. Women would flock to you get some Sai-loaf." Simon looked at Flay. "You're already the hottest chick I've ever seen Flay, but imaging walking around with a pair of real diamond earrings, sapphire pendant chains, and emerald studded bracelets. Even your father couldn't get stuff like this."

As smart as she was, having her vanity appealed to was more than enough to convince her to go with Simon. Sai still had his doubts. "Oh come on Sai, it can't be that bad, I mean what's the worse that could happen?" Something in his mind told him not to go, but Sai felt obligated to make Flay happy.

"So how do you plan to get us past them?" Sai asked, pointing to Tolle, Le Creuset, Matthew and Miriallia. Simon grinned. "Leave that to me."

* * *

"Man these hallways are creepy looking. I don't remember them being this dark before." Rusty said, sweeping his rifle back and forth. "All clear down here. I know what you mean, it's like the temple came to life." Olor replied. 

The pair walked several more feet down the hallway, maintaining a standard sweep pattern when they started to hear screams of pain. "Did you hear that?" Olor asked, hoping he wasn't imagining things. Unfortunately he wasn't. "Yeah, creepy screaming. I'd say at least 10 meters ahead." Rusty confirmed, pointing his rifle barrel in the direction.

There was a doorway up ahead, which led to somewhere. Rusty had never been down this part of the temple before, so he wasn't sure what to expect. Olor gave the all clear signal again, so Rusty popped his head inside the opening. Chained against the back wall were several students, and it looked like they were in various stages of … torture.

"What the fuck is this?" Olor asked, peeking in as well. Of the six students chained to a wall, four were already dead; Rusty checked them all for a pulse. There was a seventh set of shackles with a trail of fresh blood on the floor leading towards another doorway. The other two students were alive and in obvious pain.

"Radio this in, I'll free them." Rusty ordered. Olor nodded. "Con, con, this is Beta 2, six students located; I repeat we've located six students." Four shots in quick succession rang out, freeing the students from their chains.

"_Beta 2, this Con. How many of them are alive?_" Commander Le Creuset asked.

"Only two sir, we're retrieving them now. We have reason to believe we are not alone here."

"_Copy that Beta 2. Medical teams will be standing by._"

Rusty helped one of the students up and noticed an odd growth on her bare arm. "Olor, what the hell do you think this is?" Olor hoisted his own student up. "I don't know, but he's got one too, on his face."

Discussion could come later; right now they had to get the two students back to the Main Hall.

* * *

This was not the happiest day for Yzak Joule. Normally he didn't mind being paired up with Dearka, but for the past few days his tanned friend had been acting weird. And as soon as their search and rescue had begun, Dearka hadn't been able to stop grinning like an idiot. 

Did he not understand the nature of their mission? Students had mysteriously disappeared, and while Yzak could care less about those who couldn't take care of themselves, he was concerned about the apparent change of demeanor of the temple itself.

Their comm units crackled as they were used. It was Rusty's team.

"_Con, con, this is Beta 2, six students located; I repeat we've located six students._"

"_Beta 2, this Con. How many of them are alive?_"

"_Only two sir, we're retrieving them now. We have reason to believe we are not alone here_."

"_Copy that Beta 2. Medical teams will be standing by._"

"Four students still missing. Dearka! Quit grinning and get to work!" Yzak ordered.

"Yes sir." Dearka said mockingly with his grin still plastered to his face. This aggravated Yzak even further, so he stopped walking. "What are you so happy about anyways?" he demanded.

Yzak didn't think it possible, but Dearka's grin grew even wider. "Her name is Miriallia; I finally learned her name Yzak."

"Good for you. Now stop mooning over her like a lost lover and get searching, we still have four more students to locate."

They couldn't get much farther; their comm units came to life again. "_This is Charlie 1! We're under attack, requesting immediate backup!_"

* * *

Miguel turned a corner and noticed a complete and utter change. It literally went from moderate light to pitch black. Nichol turned the corner seconds after Miguel and bumped into the taller man. "Woah, that's a sudden change." Nichol commented. 

"_you … will be … firsssssssssssst …_"

"Did you hear something?" Miguel asked, trying to peer into the darkness. Nichol swung around to watch their six, only to find the darkness surrounding them and slowly spreading down the way they came. "Mount lights!" he ordered, and grabbed his light from his vest pocket, turning it on and sliding it on the mounts on the side of the rifle.

Miguel followed suit, and when he swung his rifle back up to its ready position three tentacles came flying out of the darkness, hitting him squarely in the chest, sending him flying backwards. His rifle clattered on the floor stones, partially illuminating his attacker's feet.

It might have once been close to a human foot, or at least it was in the same basic shape with the heel and the ball of the foot. But where the toes would be on Miguel's foot were instead two large and sharp claws, positioned at an angle away from each other at both sides of the feet. It was the same on the heel, two claws angled away to form a very stable foot, capable of keeping the rest of the body upright even under tremendous pressure.

And it was scaly, much like a reptile would be. Hearing his teammate go down, Nichol swung around and leveled his rifle as the tentacles shot out again, this time grabbing hold of his rifle. The thing pulled hard, nearly snapping the buckle that held the rifle to his vest. Miguel snatched up his rifle and opened fire, pumping lead into the thing.

It roared in pain or frustration and swung a large scythe-like arm down at Miguel. He rolled out of the way and switched to his secondary mode of fire. Aiming a little higher than he previously did, he pulled the trigger once, letting the powerful shotgun slug fly. It impacted and sent the beast hurtling off its feet and backwards. The tentacles released their iron grip on Nichol's rifle, so the green-haired boy helped his companion up.

"Thanks." He told Nichol, standing up. "So what the hell was that?" Nichol shook his head. "No clue, but we'd better report this in to Comma-" he was cut off as a tentacle wrapped itself around his neck and his arms, dragging him forward. Miguel opened fire with his shotgun, hoping to drop his foe quickly.

Switching to his primary mode, he also activated his comm unit. "This is Charlie 1! We're under attack, requesting immediate backup!"

* * *

"_This is Charlie 1! We're under attack, requesting immediate backup!_" 

Matthew looked at his Commander. "Sir, what do we do?" he asked. And before Rau could answer, Yzak's voice came over the comm. "_This is Alpha team, we're on our way, hang tight!_"

Yzak's reply did little to ease Matthew's concerns. Tolle and Milly looked at each other uncertainly, neither of them having expected to come under attack by an unknown force. They had convinced themselves that the students had merely gotten lost after the debacle at the Library.

"Sir, Alpha team won't make it in time to do anything! I'm closest to their position, let me go back them up!" he pleaded.

"_Goddamnit why won't you die!_" Miguel cursed over his open comm.

"Sir!" Matthew tried again. Le Creuset snapped his head up to look at his anxious soldier. "Go." He commanded. Not even bothering to salute, Matthew broke into a dead run to Charlie team's last known position.

Tolle watched him go, and then turned around and sank to the ground. His sight panned over the students, most of who were still subdued from finding out some of their classmates were missing and probably dead. Then something caught his notice. "Hey, where's Kuzzey?"

* * *

"_This is Charlie 1! We're under attack, requesting immediate backup!_" 

Athrun looked at Kira apprehensively. Nichol was a good friend. "We've got to help them Kira, what's the fastest way there?"

Kira checked his wrist computer, set on a 3-D display of the temple. "We can cut through the Burial chamber and go up the hallway and take a right, which should lead us to their position." He replied, clicking a few buttons.

"_This is Alpha team, we're on our way, hang tight!_"

Yzak's voice did little to calm Athrun, especially with Miguel's next comment. "_Goddamnit why won't you die!_"

The two boys broke into a dead run, running through hallways that were beginning to seem familiar to them. Kira managed the spectacular feat of keeping his rifle trained ahead and keeping one eye on his wrist computer. "_Backup is on the way Charlie team, hold tight._" Le Creuset tried to reassure his troops.

They kept running, down the hallway leading away from the Burial chamber. Halfway up the hallway, Kira noticed his map indicated there was a T-intersection nearing them, leading off, but he couldn't see an opening. Confused, he stopped and looked at the wall before him. Athrun came up from behind. "What are you staring at?" he asked.

"There's another hallway leading off right here." Kira replied. Athrun looked perplexed. "What? There's nothing here but stone."

"That's the problem. I have no memory of going down … wherever it goes, but my GPS says that I have."

Athrun couldn't reply. "_All units be advised, we have four more students AWOL; I repeat, four more students have gone missing._"

As if to reinforce Rau's transmission, a female scream echoed through the hall.

* * *

Another chapter, another day. Hope it doesn't disappoint, please Review when done reading, I love to see what you all think of it. Feel free to drop me a line, e-mail can be found in my bio. 

Thanks

Prayer


	6. The Eye of the Storm

Chapter 6: The Eye of the Storm

* * *

Miriallia waited apprehensively for the teams to return to the Main Hall. It was bad enough that ten students had gone missing, and even more so that of the six Beta team had found, only two were alive, but when Tolle had asked about Kuzzey, the shock of not being able to find him, or Sai, or Flay or Simon made waiting about as bad as it could get. 

There was only so much the other teams could do, especially with Charlie team under fire and Alpha team on their way to reinforce them. No more transmissions had been received, so all they could do was hope for the best.

After what seemed like an eternity, the comm unit crackled again. "_This is Beta team, we're incoming with two rescued._"

Le Creuset picked up the transmitter as another voice came up. "_This is Delta team, we're incoming with one rescued._"

And before the Commander could respond to either, another voice spoke. "_This is Alpha and Charlie teams, we are inbound with wounded!_"

Presented with an opportunity, Rau finally spoke. "Roger that all teams, I copy. Med teams will be on stand-by." It was fortunate that several of the aides researching the temple also had various degrees of first aid ranging from simple bandages and splits to that of a nearly qualified doctor. The only things in short supply were supplies and the proper equipment.

Even more anxious than before, Milly started to look down the hall, waiting for some sign of movement, or anything really, to show them coming back, especially for any sign of Kira. The shadows started to waver, and soon formed into vaguely humanoid shapes. Her breath caught in her throat as the forms finally sharpened into humans.

"Make a hole! We've got wounded!" Rusty barked, supporting one of the formerly missing students. Right beside him was Olor supporting another student. Some of the students gawking near the entrance moved away as the two Coordinators handed their charges off to the waiting aides.

Right behind them was Matthew supporting Miguel who was holding his hand tightly to the left side of his face. "Medic!" Matthew yelled as Miguel irritably pushed them back. "Get off me!" he growled and walked up to Rau. "Sir, we need to go after them, they have Nichol!"

"You're in no condition to do anything Aiyman, let them tend to your injury first." Rau said calmly. "Sir, time is of the essence here." Miguel tried to counter-argue. "Sit down and let them treat you Miguel! That's an order!" Rau nearly yelled.

Seething, Miguel finally complied, taking his hand off of his face. His left eye was closed and there was blood everywhere, making it difficult for Mir to determine where his wound was.

"Keep that hole clear!" Yzak ordered, coming in just ahead of Kira, supporting Flay. Finally Athrun and Dearka appeared, having kept the rear guard. "Where is she hurt?" one of the medics asked Kira.

He shook his head. "It's not her blood." He replied. Rau stepped forward. "Report, all of you, now."

They all looked at each other. Then Matthew started. "Well sir …"

-

"Goddamnit why won't you die!" Miguel screamed as the beast holding onto Nichol disappeared back into the darkness. He stopped firing for an instant, trying to see where it had gone. His flashlight wasn't strong enough to penetrate the thick darkness. And out of nowhere, a scythe-like arm shot out, cutting deep into the left side of Miguel's face, slicing nearly all the way through his eye socket.

The force of the impact sent the boy to the ground, screaming in pain. As he hit, the bulb in his flashlight shattered, plunging him into darkness. "Miguel!" Matthew called out, raising his rifle and opening fire. The brief flares from the muzzle let Matthew know that he was hitting something other than his injured friend lying on the ground. His clip ran dry so he smoothly switched to his secondary mode and continued firing, driving the beast back further.

It seemed that it had retreated, so he stopped firing and helped Miguel to his feet. "Where's Nichol?" he asked, reloading his rifle completely. Clutching his left eye painfully, Miguel breathed in. "One of those things has him."

"Miguel! Matthew!" Yzak said, running up with Dearka right behind him. "Where's Nichol?" he asked.

The silence that answered him was more than enough. "We have to pull back and report this." Dearka said.

"I'm not going to leave without Nichol." Miguel said, refusing to move. Yzak stepped in. "We're unprepared for this situation. We have to pull back and reassess our objectives and then come back better prepared."

"But Nichol-" Miguel started. Matthew put his hand on his shoulder. "We'll come back for him; we never leave a man behind." Miguel finally complied, turning and took a few steps. He wavered and would have fallen if not for Matthew. "Your depth perception must be off."

"Back to the main hall." Yzak ordered, and took the lead.

-

Having successfully managed to sneak out from underneath Rau's nose, Simon turned triumphantly to Sai and Flay. "What did I tell you, piece of cake."

Flay brushed aside his bragging. "Yeah yeah, any three year old kid could've gotten out. Now where's the treasure?"

He smiled again. "That's the adventure. Come on, follow me!" they traveled down winding paths, around corners and up hallways. Flay began to doubt Simon's sincerity since he seemed lost. As they passed another hallway, something looked familiar to Sai. "Hey, isn't this the hallway leading to the Burial chamber?"

"They all look alike, how is it possible to tell them apart?" Simon muttered. Finally Flay stopped Sai, letting Simon go further ahead. "I think he's lost, and there's probably nothing of value in here." She whispered to Sai.

A rumbling noise was heard, and Sai looked up to see a large section of the floor Simon was walking on collapse in. "Simon!" he called out and rushed forward.

"I'm okay … except for my ass." The boy replied, standing up and shaking the dust off. He looked up and figured that he dropped at least twelve feet. More than that, there was a new hallway running parallel right underneath the one he was just walking through. "Hey, check it out, a new passage. This could be it!" he rubbed his hands together anxiously.

Flay joined Sai at the edge of the hole and looked down nervously. "_Foolsssssss …_" Simon looked around. "What did you call me?" he asked Sai. Sai was perplexed. "I didn't say anything."

A combination of a hiss and a growl caught Simon's attention, so he turned to face the dark hallway again. Everything seemed too quiet as the noise was heard again. A flicking motion registered in his mind, and he sighed in relief. Laughing, he looked up at Sai and Flay. "It's just a fricken cat!"

"What's a cat doing in here?" Sai questioned. Simon kneeled to try and pet the cat, but the feline bared her fangs at him. "What? Do I smell bad?" Simon asked the cat. He let out a strangled yelp as a tentacle shot out of the darkness and wrapped itself tightly around his neck.

"SIMON!" Sai yelled as the boy tried desperately to pull the tentacle off his neck. Whatever it was attached to started pulling him, so Simon did he best to resist, holding onto whatever he could. Whatever it was gave a big tug which pulled him forward and off his feet. No longer resisting, Simon disappeared down the dark hallway.

Flay took a step backwards in fear. "Oh my god, what are we going to do?" she whispered. Sai's eyes widened in horror as something massive stepped into the open hole where Simon was moments ago. It was big; every limb was at least as thick as a human head, if not thicker. There were four claws on the end of each foot, creating a stable platform to walk on.

The left arm ended about midway up the forearm, and instead of a hand or fingers were three long and dexterous-looking tentacles. The right arm ended in a similar manner, but featured a large scythe-like claw at least two feet long. The head looked like part of a helmet, protecting two beady-looking orange eyes from a lot of danger. A barely visible line suggested a place for a mouth.

It was black in color and looked scaly all over except on the claw and tentacles. Frozen in horror, Flay could do nothing as the beast jumped and thrust its right arm at her. Sai pushed her back and stepped in front, his face contorted in pain as the scythe sliced right through his chest. Blood splattered all over Flay's face and shirt.

Landing heavily from its jump, the beast threw Sai off and down the hallway, letting the body roll painfully down the hall. It looked right at her, but Flay couldn't turn away. All she could do was scream. And scream she did.

Athrun looked around. "That came from down there." He said, pointing down the hall they were traveling through. "The other missing students?" Kira theorized.

They both took off, running to find the exact location. Almost to the intersection they were supposed to turn at to go back up Charlie team, they found another adjoining hallway, and down this one was Flay hanging on for her dear life.

"Flay!" Kira yelled, charging down the hallway. He jumped, leaping clear over her and down the hole, right onto the beast holding onto her. The shock and force of the impact made the thing let go Flay, allowing Athrun to safely pull her up. Not wasting a second, Kira aimed his rifle right at the head of the attacker as it fell, firing for all he was worth.

The three tentacles formed something akin to a fist and delivered an uppercut to Kira, sending him crashing against the wall. "Kira! We have to retreat back the Main Hall; we don't have the proper equipment to finish this fight!" Athrun warned him.

The beast started to stand, so Kira closed the gap between them and jumped onto its chest and then using it as a springboard jump again this time over the lip of the hole and rolled away. "You're telling me." Kira said darkly as he took Flay and followed Athrun.

-

"That's preposterous Kira, there are no 'monsters' in this temple, it's been abandoned for centuries." Ron scoffed.

"I know what I saw Mister Manson, it's not something I'm about to forget, it attacked my friends." Kira defended himself.

"Oh, so a ten foot tall monster as thick as a tree is marauding around the temple, snatching up students like the boogeyman?"

"There's more than one of them out there." Miguel countered. "Whatever took Nichol and injured me couldn't have gotten to them so fast."

"Kira," Carl interrupted, holding up the book. "Did it look like this?" he asked, pointing to a picture. Kira nodded, confirming it. "Just like that."

"Then we are dealing with the Forsaken." Carl announced.

Questions poured from everyone, wanting to know who or what they were, how they could have survived this long, why it took them so long to start attacking, what they want and so forth. Rau quieted them all down. "Rest for now, recuperate and re-equip yourselves for the next sortie. I want all weapons loaded with armor-piercing rounds and shells, and snoopers for you all. In the meantime I will confer with Doctor Ryan as to what exactly we are dealing with."

It was clear that the Coordinators were all anxious to do something, especially rescue Nichol and the other students, but orders were orders. Rusty and Dearka opened two crates filled with spare ammunition and started to hand them out. All of them swapped their regular rounds with the new more powerful ones and replaced any expended clips or shells as well.

Kira unbuckled his combat vest and slung it over his shoulder, still holding his rifle in the other hand. "What about those snoopers Commander Le Creuset mentioned?" he asked. Rusty tossed him a pair of goggles. "Infrared or night vision, they'll be useful."

A wave of weariness overcame Kira, so he managed to stumble to his blanket and slid down the wall. Screams of pain and fear ran through his head as his imagination started up on overdrive. Then he thought he heard Sai's voice.

"_Kira … why didn't you save me? Why couldn't you save me? You save that pink-haired Coordinator easily enough, so what made it so hard to help me? Or maybe it's because I'm a Natural …_"

He pulled his hair as he tried to argue. "No … it's not that, I just wasn't fast enough …"

"_Kira … I always knew you had something against Naturals …_" Simon's voice spoke. "_But to go this far and let your friends be killed … or maybe they weren't your friends after all. You're nothing but Coordinator scum._"

"That's not true …" he said feebly, falling onto his side and curling up into a fetal position. By this time Miriallia had made her way from the impromptu checkpoint Rau had set up to Kira now curled up in a ball on the floor. She immediately dropped to her knees right by Kira.

"Kira!" she said fearfully, stroking his cheek. He didn't hear her voice, and only barely felt her soft touch and when he opened his eyes; he didn't see the main hall around him, but rather another darkened room with several creatures in it. It was arranged in a circular fashion, with steps in the center leading to a throne-like chair, flanked by four very large humanoids.

Sitting on the throne was a creature that looked vaguely familiar, but Kira couldn't remember where or why for the life of him. "_You … have done well…_" it spoke.

That didn't have a positive reaction on Kira. "_perhaps … you'll enjoy knowing this …_" Kira tensed, and as it spoke again, he could only make out one word. Miriallia. His vision wavered, and suddenly he saw the Main Hall again, with Miriallia over him looking worried.

"Are you okay?" she asked. He started to stand up, and about halfway there, he stumbled and started to fall. Miriallia was unfortunately caught underneath him and they fell together, onto their blankets. It fortunately wasn't a hard landing, but as Kira stared into her beautiful eyes, the words he previously failed to understand suddenly made sense.

"_it's about her … Miriallia, she wants you …_"

"Mir, I want you, I need you." He said quietly and started kissing the nape of her neck gently. Miriallia was shocked; Kira was rarely this forward with his feelings. "Kira, I-" she inhaled at the feeling of his soft touch, caressing her body.

He continued, showing her a world of bliss, but deep down inside, she knew it wasn't completely right, it wasn't the Kira she knew doing this. "Kira … wait." She finally managed to halt his advances. "I don't want to ruin our friendship, not over something like this, not here, not now."

The utter sincerity in her voice penetrated through the haze in his brain, and he had a regretful look on his face, not from having to stop, but from what he had almost done. "I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me." Milly hugged him, reassuring him. "It's okay Kira, don't worry about it."

Watching them from his own little corner, Dearka stood there with something akin to an angry expression on his face. "_you see … she doesn't want him, she wants someone better … someone like you …_" it spoke to him.

His anger faded as a feral grin settled in.

* * *

Well, there we have another chapter. I've received a lot of reviews for Icess and that makes me very happy. I will do my best to continue writing to the best of my abilities, so long as you all continue to read and review. 

I do apologize to those who are a little creeped out by the detail in my story, this is my first attempt at a horror, and seeing those words tells me that I'm getting the right atmosphere. Until next update,

Prayer


	7. Something Wicked This Way Comes

Chapter 7: Something Wicked This Way Comes

* * *

Kira sat with his back propped up against the wall, holding a sleeping Miriallia comfortably in his arms. She was sound asleep finally, looking like an angel without wings. He was staring off into space until he noticed Athrun walking over, obviously trying to mute his boot steps. Looking at his brown-haired friend, Athrun motioned over to Commander Le Creuset with his head. 

Nodding to show he understood, Kira slowly and gently laid Milly on a blanket and then covered her with his own. They walked silently, fearing what news Rau would have for them. It wasn't the best, but it could have been far worse. "Doctor Ryan was correct; we are dealing with an unknown race labeled as the Forsaken. According him, they are led by a single queen, and she is very powerful and very smart." Rau started with no preamble.

"We have precious little background information on them which puts us at a major disadvantage when it comes to dealing with them. For tonight we will start patrols over a small portion of the temple nearest to the Main Hall to ensure the safety of the students and staff. In the morning we'll try again at recovering the students now that we know we're not alone."

All of them nodded in agreement, it was a sound plan. "Delta Team will take the first patrol, then Charlie Team, then Alpha, and finally Beta. Report in immediately if you find anything suspicious. I want no repeats of last time."

"Due to the late hour of the night, patrols will be overlapping to some extent. Halfway through Delta's patrol, Charlie will start, and then halfway through Charlie's patrol, Alpha will leave and Delta will return, and so on." Rau continued. "Oh, and Matthew will be replacing Nichol's position, and Miguel has been pronounced fit for duty. Delta team, you may begin."

Athrun and Kira stood and strapped their combat vests on and departed without a word. "The rest of you may rest until your patrol starts." Rau said. The other three teams stood up and went their separate ways, Lacus started to follow, but Rau held her back. "Miss Clyne, I need a favor."

Yzak noticed that Dearka was wearing the same grin he had on their last patrol. He knew better this time than to ask just why he was smiling. '_It's probably because Kira's gone and Mer … Mira … damnit, what's her name? Oh well, because that girl is alone now._' Yzak thought to himself. His suspicions proved correct when Dearka meandered over to where she was currently sleeping. Groaning, he debated following and stopping him, but decided against it and checked his rifle and supplies again.

Miriallia awoke, hearing the faint call for Alpha team to prepare for patrol. She was alone, or at least Kira wasn't beside her. "Kira?" she spoke uncertainly, still half-asleep, with her recent memories of him running rampant. "He's on patrol." Dearka answered, making her jump.

He was sitting much like Kira was, his back against the wall, rifle leaning against him. Milly threw the blanket off of her and stood up, noticing Dearka was grinning like an idiot, as if the grin was never going to leave his face. "So … did you want something?" Miriallia asked, wondering why he was staring at her.

"You're a very pretty girl you know. Just my type, nice eyes, short soft hair, legs to die for." Dearka commented, slowly standing. "Looks good in just about everything, smart, funny and unprejudiced."

She backed away from him a step at a time, but Dearka grabbed one of her hands and threw her against the wall he was leaning on and then pinned her there. "Where are you going?" he asked her, the grin still on his face.

"What are you trying to do?" she asked, trying to keep her voice calm and level. "I know you want someone better than him, someone with more gusto, more brains, than him. That's me baby, I'm all yours." He replied.

"What are you talking about?" Mir asked fearfully. "Don't play games with me, I saw you reject his advances earlier. Why else would you say no unless you were waiting for someone better?" Dearka said, his voice losing some of its playfulness. Miriallia felt her cheeks become red in embarrassment. He was watching her the entire time?

"So whaddya say babe? You and I go find a nice quiet corner and have some fun?" he leered at her. Milly was speechless, here was this boy she barely knew hitting on her and treating her like some slut. "No." she said, finally managing to find her voice.

Dearka wasn't surprised or slowed by her answer. He leaned in closer. "Let's make a deal, if your body says yes, then we follow your body, sound good?" Before she could answer, he felt two taps on his shoulder from something metal. "What?" he growled, turning his head to see Yzak standing there, looking very impatient.

Not getting a verbal response from his friend and teammate, Dearka turned his attention back to Miriallia still trapped against the wall, only to feel another two taps on his shoulder from the barrel of Yzak's rifle. "What!" he demanded, turning his head again. A third round of tapping answered him, so Dearka turned to face Yzak fully. Before the tanned boy could say another word, Yzak tossed his combat vest and rifle to him.

Deftly catching it, Dearka got the hint, and turned to finish up with Miriallia before he left. He found, however, that she didn't wait for him and instead used his distraction to her advantage and disappeared. "I hope you're happy Yzak, I didn't even get a kiss out of her." Dearka said grumpily. Yzak stayed silent.

At the entrance of the Main Hall, Yzak and Dearka passed by Athrun and Kira, and Dearka intentionally shouldered Kira forcefully. "What's his problem?" Kira wondered. Athrun shrugged and stretched. "There's nothing important to report, so I'm going to hit the sack and catch some shut eye. There'll be a debriefing when Beta team gets back, but that won't be for a while, so I suggest you sleep as well Kira."

Kira nodded and quickly found the spot where he and Miriallia slept side by side. She was curled in a ball, sleeping by the looks of it, and shivering a bit. He knelt and put a blanket over her and then stroked her cheek softly. "You're too nice and pure to be in the middle of all this." He whispered to himself and then positioned himself against his usual patch of wall.

Milly wasn't actually asleep, but rather pretending to be in case it was Dearka returning and not Kira. She had intended to talk to him right away, but his words left her with an odd feeling. By the time she decided to ask about that and actually got up, Kira was asleep, looking like a boy inside his combat vest. As best as she could manage she draped the blanket over him, trying to cover as much as possible.

She smiled and then fell asleep on top of Kira's cloak. Kira, who was so used to having a warm body sleeping beside him, woke up an hour later, confused and disoriented. Seeing that nothing was out of place in the Main Hall, he finally turned his attention to Milly sleeping again without a blanket. His mind registered the fact that he had a blanket draped over him.

"That girl …" he muttered and stood. Taking off his vest, he set it aside and spread the blanket over her once again, but this time also took up a position right beside her sleeping form, settling in and feeling at ease. They both slept finally, uninterrupted, and thus missed seeing Dearka standing over them, looking very angry, his fists clenched tightly. "She will be mine." He vowed.

"_and I'll give you the chance to make it so …_" whispered the voice. Slowly but surely, Dearka's grin returned.

It was just a little after 7:30AM when Beta team reported back, and scant minutes later when the other three teams assembled again. "So in a fortunate turn of events, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Now we need to keep our fortune going and find the other students and Nichol." Rau announced.

Murmurings of consent were heard from all of them and Rau continued. "I want Alpha team paired up with Beta team, and Charlie team paired up with Delta team." That meant Yzak, Dearka, Rusty and Olor would be together, leaving Miguel, Matthew, Athrun and Kira. "We'll continue to hold the fort, and I want you eight to locate and rescue as many students as possible. Drag their corpses if you have to, but bring them back!"

Carl Ryan joined them. "Now I'm not sure where you have in mind to search first, but I'd check the prison first, and the room where Beta team found the first two students alive. Commander Rau is right; it'd mean a lot to us even if you brought back bodies to be buried at the least."

"As good of places as any to start with. Alpha and Beta will the take the room as Beta is familiar with it, Charlie and Delta will take the prison. Any questions?" there were none. "Good, then good luck." He dismissed them.

They formed into their groups and trotted off, leaving just as Miriallia woke. She noticed the blanket on her again and smiled sadly. "He's gone off to fight again." She said with a depressed air around her. "Not quite." A female voice put in. Mir looked up to see Lacus walking over. "They've all gone to rescue the other students." She corrected.

"I see. I'm Miriallia." Mir introduced herself, extending her hand out. "Lacus Clyne." Lacus shook Milly's hand gently. "Your friend Kira is getting along quite well with my husband."

"Husband? At your age?" that threw Miriallia for a loop. "Well, fiancé I suppose is the more accurate word. Athrun and I are engaged to be married in a few months from now." Lacus giggled. "May I offer my congratulations?" Milly asked.

"You may." She paused. "So how long have you and Kira been going out?" It was a good thing that Milly wasn't drinking anything, she might have choked on it. "I'm sorry, Kira and I?" she tried to get some clarification.

"Yes." Lacus nodded. "How long have you two been dating?" Mir pretended to look thoughtful. "Well, if you include today, then that would bring the total up to zero days." Lacus gasped. "Really? But he's soooooo cute, and you're quite pretty, I think you'd make a good couple."

Kira saw it, other people saw it, and so why was it such a surprise to Miriallia?

* * *

"This is it." Rusty announced, shining his flashlight through the doorway. Inside were the same four dead students still chained to the wall, and the previously unoccupied seventh set of shackles was now occupied by another dead student. 

"Right, cut 'em down and bring 'em back." Yzak ordered. Olor stepped up and fired ten rounds, one round per chain. Five bodies fell to the stone floor. "Assuming I can count, there are five bodies and four of us." Dearka noticed.

"That's a big assumption Elsman." Yzak muttered. Shifting his rifle to the side, Olor picked up two of the bodies over his shoulders. "Shall we?" Grabbing a body each, the combined Alpha and Beta teams started back to the Main Hall with little joy, too many had died already, how many more would die before it was over?

* * *

On the way to the prison, Kira passed by the same hallway intersection which Kira had apparently explored. This time he gave it no thought, simply running by it with the rest of Charlie and Delta, and continuing onwards. He and Athrun had passed through the prison early yesterday in their attempt to rescue Flay, Sai and Simon. 

"This way." Kira said, taking a right. Yesterday the prison had been as barren as the day they had explored it, nearly losing Lacus in the process were it not for Kira's quick reflexes. Rather than approach it from the front, Charlie and Delta were going in through a side route.

When they got there, they saw a much different room. Four students were inside, two on the large slab tables, one hanging over the pit, chained to the bar and one shackled to the wall. The one on the wall had several large needles pushed through his stomach; both of the students on the tables had at least one portion of their body opened, as if they were being dissected. The one hanging had no visible marring. The four Coordinators stared in shock, and then sprang into action, working quickly to free the students.

Miguel was un-strapping the student from the stone slab table when he realized it was Nichol. Quickly, he checked for a pulse and was relieved when he found one, albeit a weak one. The other three students were freed with little hassle, and just as they were ready to leave two of the Forsaken warriors walked, well more of marched, in, stopping as they noticed the apparent rescue attempt.

Kira tossed his student to Athrun. "Go, I'll hold off dumb and dumber." He said, sliding the bolt on his rifle into place. The sounds of rapidly fading footsteps told him that the other three team members were thankfully following his orders. He smirked, and then opened fire.

* * *

The impromptu medics certainly had a busy day. Nine students had been recovered, leaving only Sai and Simon unaccounted for. Of the nine that had been brought back, five were pronounced dead while the last four were alive. All of them, Nichol included, had scales that looked like they had been grafted on, some on the arms, or legs, or torso, or even the face. 

Not even Doctor Ryan knew what they were for; perhaps it was the Forsaken's way of marking their captives and slaves. When questioned about Kira, Athrun replied he would be along in a few minutes, and that he had held off some of their warriors.

"C- command- er …" Nichol stuttered, struggling to sit up. "Woah, easy there soldier, you've had a rough time." Yzak said, halting Nichol's upward progress temporarily. "Yzak is correct Nichol, you need your rest. Debriefing can wait for now." Rau said generously.

"Fools …" he whispered. Yzak frowned. "What?" Faster than he thought possible, Nichol unhooked Yzak's rifle and slammed it in his face, sending the silver-haired boy backwards. Standing up to his full height, he trained the weapon on Rau, only to have it kicked out of his hands. Nichol brought his own rifle up. "I wouldn't advise that Commander …" he warned.

"Nichol, what the hell are you doing?" Rau demanded, but as he turned his head, he noticed that the other recovered students were acting much in the same way, attacking those with weapons, namely the soldiers under his command. Even the students pronounced dead were attacking, making it an uneven nine soldiers against ten of the seemingly brainwashed and undead students.

"I honestly expected better from you Commander, after all, you were the top graduate at the Academy. I suppose old age has its price, but apparently cunning is your ally. So answer me this: who is going to save you now?" he taunted, never letting Rau leave his sights.

"Me." The answer came from behind. Nichol swung around as everyone's heads and eyes trained on the owner of the voice. It was Kira, his rifle at the ready and looking extremely pissed off. "You!" Nichol cursed.

Kira fired three bullets at Nichol, all three ripping through his combat vest and dropping the young boy to the floor. Rau dived to the floor yelling "take cover!" Those who weren't already on the floor similarly hit the dirt. Kira opened fire again, methodically killing and re-killing the possessed students, mowing them down with no mercy or compassion.

His smoking barrel lowered as the last student fell. "Kira!" Miriallia yelled happily, jumping up and running at her friend. She had tears and a fiery look in her eyes as she threw her arms around him. Without thinking about, without planning it and without who saw it or what they might think, he kissed her.

It lasted for a few minutes, and when they finished, utter silence greeted them. Miriallia immediately blushed a bright crimson as Kira looked around nervously. Finally, a strained laugh broke the silence. It came from Nichol, his chest heaving irregularly. "You haven't won, not by a long shot." He uttered, coughing as he spoke.

Kira bent over Nichol's bleeding form. "You're tricks won't work Icess, I want you to know that I'm going to kill you." He said. Nichol smiled evilly, making Kira pause, and then with his last remaining strength, Nichol swung his rifle up with one hand and placed the barrel right against Kira's chest.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Milly screamed "no!" as Nichol pulled the trigger, firing a shotgun slug into Kira's chest. He flew backwards, propelled by the powerful shot and hit the floor with a dull thud, his limbs flailing before succumbing to gravity and hitting the floor as well.

All at once, the scene replayed itself in real time in Miriallia's mind. "KIRAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

* * *

Sorry for the wait, but between hectic and large work loads, pulling my shoulder and general writer's block, I've been busy. And never in the right way either. Oh well. Side note: anyone going to PAX, drop me a line. Until the next update, please do a writer a favor and leave a Review. 

Many thanks, Prayer


	8. The Fangs of the Enemy

Chapter 8: The Fangs of the Enemy

* * *

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Milly screamed "no!" as Nichol pulled the trigger, firing a shotgun slug into Kira's chest. He flew backwards, propelled by the powerful shot and hit the floor with a dull thud, his limbs flailing before succumbing to gravity and hitting the floor as well. 

All at once, the scene replayed itself in real time in Miriallia's mind. "KIRAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Everyone stood frozen in their spots as Kira lay motionless on the floor. It was a shock even to seven trained soldiers and a veteran commander to see one of their own turn on another like that, alien entity or not. Finally Tolle ran to his friend. "Get his vest off! He's not breathing!" he ordered, trying to get the flak jacket off.

Athrun lowered his head in defeat. "He's dead." He whispered. Still struggling to get the vest off, Tolle eyed Athrun despairingly. "He's got a pulse damnit! Now help me!" Athrun snapped into action, undoing the sides of the vest and pulling it over Kira's head. Tolle placed his hands one on top of another on Kira's chest and started pumping and counting.

"There's no blood." Rusty noticed.

He was performing CPR, hoping to resuscitate his friend. Kira's dry and lifeless eyes stared upwards at Miriallia as Tolle kept trying. "Please Kira …" she whispered sadly. His eyes widened and blinked multiple times as he drew a hungry breath. Stunned by their success, Tolle kept the pressure on Kira's chest.

"Hey …" Kira rasped, "that hurts a little you know." Tolle jumped up in surprise, apologizing as he stood. Kira stood up slowly, and Milly approached him, wanting to say and do so much, but instead barely managing to hold her tears back. He could hear the gasps of surprise from everyone, and he was quite shocked himself, so he took off his shirt, revealing a large and ugly bruise on his chest.

"But … how?" Carl wondered. Rusty tossed him Kira's combat vest which was nearly in tatters. "He was lucky, if Nichol had the armor-piercing rounds that we did, Kira would be dead instead of confused."

It made sense, and it just went to show just how far a little preparation went. "Yamato, get checked out by the medics, we'll reconvene at 19:00 hours tonight, after the evening meal."

Miriallia waited quietly and patiently as a few of the impromptu medics examined Kira. She thought back to the hectic events of the last day and a bit, Dearka's unwanted advances, the news of Lacus being engaged to Athrun, the surprise that even a girl she barely knew thought Kira would make a good boyfriend, and finally her own feelings becoming clear upon his return.

She was so lost in thought about her close friend that she jumped when Kira tapped her on the shoulder. "They're done with me for now." He said, putting his shirt back on, covering the bruise once again. Together they walked silently and somewhat nervously back to their blankets, sitting down and facing each other.

"So …" Kira wasn't to sure how to proceed, expressing his warm fuzzy feelings to a girl was never his strong point, especially to the girl he had warm fuzzy feelings for. "I'm sorry if I made you worry." He knew there was no 'if'; she was more than likely worried sick when he was shot.

"I … I was worried when you didn't come back with the rest of them. There was this little fear in the back of my mind, nagging me, telling me that you'd been killed already, or maybe worse. When the students started their attack, I thought for sure the voice was right, and you were already dead."

She paused to contain the tears. "And then you came back, all alone, like a hero out of a book or movie and saved us all. I couldn't believe it, it was almost too good to be true, and then I didn't even think about what I was doing, and when I did, we were already kissing."

Kira took one of her hands in his. "I hope I wasn't too forward with that, it just seemed so right." Her tears built. "It was right Kira, and I thought for a minute that I was never going to get the chance to tell you."

"Tell me what?"

Miriallia looked him straight in the eye as a tear rolled down her cheek. "That you mean so much more to me than I realized, that I want to be with you, to be closer to you." Kira wiped her tear away. "I feel the same way about you Miriallia, and to be honest, I think I've always felt this way about you."

A warm feeling erupted within her, prompting her to crawl into his arms. Kira, who couldn't quite believe he had just admitted his feelings for Miriallia, fell onto his back, letting the girl of his dreams stare down at him. "So does the hero get the girl in this story?" he asked her teasingly.

"You tell me …" Milly leaned in close. "Hero."

* * *

Kira lay on the floor, sleeping, holding Miriallia close as she remained awake for the time being, tracing the outlines of his bruise gently with her fingers. She had to admit, being with Kira gave her a sense of fulfillment, a feeling that she never wanted to lose. Oh how she realized just how much she loved his hairless muscular chest, or his beautiful violet eyes, especially his kind demeanor. 

But the reality side of her brain kicked in, reminding her that they were all still stuck in a temple fighting off monsters that could control people, the same monsters that nearly killed Kira. That same part of her mind tried to rationalize their relationship as nothing more than comfort during a crisis, and once the crisis was over, so too would end the comfort of their relationship.

She stopped tracing the bruise for a second and sighed deeply. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea … "Hey, sleep is important for everyone remember?" Kira said, his eyes still closed. Kira was right. Commander Le Creuset would be sending them off again after dinner, so whatever time they could spend together was time well spent. "Yeah, but you need it more than I do." She pecked him on the lips, and then settled in and eventually fell asleep.

Kira woke up to an annoying tapping feeling on his bare shoulder. He considered pretending to be asleep, but discarded that idea when he realized that it could be supper time. An eye cracked open to see Athrun poking him. "Stop that." He said grumpily. Athrun complied. "Come on, you're going to miss dinner and then you'll have to hungry tonight."

"Right, give me a minute." Kira asked, opening his other eye as well. Athrun was confused. "For what?" Kira paused for a second, debating on what to tell Athrun. Finally, he decided. "To get dressed." He said simply.

Athrun's mouth opened and closed several times like a fish out of water, and then he snapped it shut a final time and walked away, giving Kira the privacy he needed. Once the blue-haired Coordinator was out of sight, Kira rolled over and gently shook Milly awake. Her eyes lit up as they saw Kira in front of them. "Hey, it's time for dinner." He said almost sadly.

Every other day Kira would have been happy to go eat again, but not this day. No one knew what Le Creuset had in mind, or what the Forsaken still had in store for them. Kira wasn't afraid to die, but if he did then it would hurt Miriallia a lot, and that was something he intended to avoid.

Mir nodded and they quickly got dressed before proceeding to where some food had been set out. A bleak silence had settled throughout the room, it was as if everyone knew something big was going to go down. Once dinner was over, the soldiers and volunteers assembled near Rau. "We've gone up against their Warriors, and we've seen their slaves and drones. According Doctor Ryan, there are two more types we need to be on the lookout for."

Doctor Ryan stepped up. "The Forsaken operate much like a beehive, with a Queen at the top, Males forming a small portion of the population, and then the Warriors and Slaves. The Males are faster and more powerful than the Warriors according to the text we've translated thus far."

"And Icess?" Kira asked. "What can she do?"

Carl Ryan drew a breath. "The text indicates that she has very powerful mental abilities, like being able to influence and control up to several individuals at a time. Her physical abilities are nothing to laugh at either; she's faster than her Warriors and probably stronger as well. I believe for the time being that the Males will act as bodyguards unless the situation becomes so dire that she's forced to send them out."

Kira raised his hand. "Does she have ability to talk to people from distances away?" Carl nodded. "It's probably one her easiest mental tricks she has." Kira raised his hand again. "What about altering or erasing memories?"

Doctor Ryan paused. "I'd say it's very possible, probably derived from her ability to control people." Rau stepped forward. "Here's our game plan. We're going to cull their ranks, start from the bottom of their food chain and wipe out the cannon fodder. From a distance the slaves can be mistaken for students, and I want to eliminate that problem. All teams will search and destroy, concentrate on the slaves, then go for the Warriors. Keep your six clear at all times."

Everyone nodded, but then Dearka spoke up. "Why don't we just let our resident Hero deal with all of this? He seems to have a knack for it." He suggested. Though everyone stared at Dearka, Dearka continued to stare at Kira only. "Why don't you tell us how you killed two of the Warriors, Hero?" he nearly spat out the last word.

Kira narrowed his eyes at Dearka; the blond Coordinator was really beginning to piss him off. "The armor-piercing rounds are much better for dealing with the Warriors than our previous rounds."

Rau accepted that answer. "Prepare to depart in 30 minutes, make sure you have everything you need."

They dispersed, but Dearka managed to painfully grab one of Kira's shoulder. "You can't fool me with your cock-bite stories, I'm going to find out what happened, and then you're going to pay."

Kira wrenched Dearka's hand into a wrist-lock. "I don't know what I did to you, but get off my case." Dearka looked defiant. "And stay away from Miriallia!" Kira released Dearka and walked away.

He made his way back to Miriallia. "What was that about?" Milly asked, referring to his little confrontation with Dearka. "Nothing important." He lied. They spent their time together quietly, trying not to think of what could happen. The call to assemble was sounded and Kira got up.

Miriallia hugged him tightly. "I'm afraid, Kira what if you don't come back?" she asked, voicing her fears. Kira looked at her and smiled. "I'll come back, I promise." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him passionately, and just as he started to kiss back, she stopped. "I'll be waiting for you." She whispered.

* * *

Thanks to Kira's active mapping sensor, the teams located the largest concentration of slaves, located two levels down and about a mile away. No one spoke as they ran towards their target area, but they all stopped when Kuzzey stepped out in front of them. 

"Kuzzey!" Kira cursed. "What the hell, are you trying to get yourself killed?" he demanded. "I don't suggest going down there." He replied calmly. Yzak shouldered his way forward. "Out of the way Buskirk."

"I'm doing this for your own good." Kuzzey said, still calm. Matthew raised his rifle. "You'd better start thinking about your own good. Out of the way kid, we won't ask again."

Kuzzey stepped aside. "Don't say I didn't warn you." He said as they ran past him. When they had disappeared down the hallway, he turned and started walking. Shouts of surprise and panic could be heard, followed quickly by gunfire and screams of pain. "I did warn them after all." He said, smiling.

* * *

Rau and Lacus were monitoring their communication's device when Rau felt a pressure on his head, like something was squeezing from the inside. But it wasn't just him; Lacus felt it, along with everyone else in the Main Hall. He still managed to form one last rational sentence. "This can't be good.

* * *

Icess smiled, showing her sharp teeth and then laughed. Mankind hadn't changed since the last time she reigned supreme, and she had no reason to believe that they would change anytime soon. To reinforce her point, Dearka, who was standing in front of her, flanked by two Warriors, spoke up. "Well? Is it done?" he demanded. 

Icess laughed again. "Oh yes young one, it is done. It's been a long time since I've met someone like you. Off you go, we all have important business to attend to." She shooed him away.

Dearka grinned as he left, feeling victorious. "One way or another Kira, I'll find you out."

* * *

A/N: Well that certainly took a while. The part of me that borders on genius and insanity managed to create an Original Story, so I'm dividing my time between that and all the works I have in progress. Please Review after reading, thank you for waiting. 

Prayer


	9. True Colors

Chapter 9: True Colors

* * *

Everything was surreal, everything was calm, and Miriallia felt at peace. Mostly. It wasn't the kind of peace that she felt around Kira, especially with the peace he had recently brought her; instead it was more like it had been forced over her eyes, like a blindfold. There weren't any thunderous noises as she slowly stood, taking her time as if her body had a purpose but forgot to inform her mind about it. No one took any notice; they were so absorbed into their tasks, whatever they were. 

The Main Hall slowly disappeared behind her, melting into the darkness that no light could penetrate. The corridors and passageways were as silent as everyone in the Main Hall, which made her mind start to worry. Neither Commander Rau nor Doctor Ryan knew the exact numbers of the Forsaken, or even dared to venture a guess. The main source of protection for the amassed students and researchers lay in the hands of the eight Coordinator students who were currently off on their crusade-like mission to eradicate, if possible, the Forsaken.

Professor Cyril Ferguson had expressed his concerns to Milly about both Kira and Dearka and how they had radically changed since becoming trapped inside the temple. Mir had wanted to argue that Kira had merely stepped up to the plate to protect his friends from danger, but as the words formed in her mouth, she realized that the once-manageable rivalry between the tanned Coordinator and her Kira had quickly degraded into outright hatred as she and Kira were seen together more often.

And the more she and Kira were seen together, the more Dearka tried to get with her. The more Dearka tried, the more Kira was seen with her. It was a vicious circle of anger and jealously and at the rate it was going, it would end up with one of them dead, probably both of them.

All of this ran through her head again as her feet continued to lead her body. Her mind could no longer control her rebelling body, but that quickly became the least of her concerns. A shadow separated from the wall, barely visible in the darkness surrounding everything.

"Well I'll be damned, she told the truth." The figure said in a happy voice. It seemed like the reality blindfold shattered, and she was finally released and able to see the truth. A flashlight flicked on, which easily cut through the darkness and shining brightly in her face. Miriallia raised her arms to block the bright light from her eyes, so the operator turned the flashlight upwards and placed the light under his face, much like children do when telling ghost stories around the campfire.

The light inexplicably brightened the section of the corridor she was in, revealing two Forsaken Warriors standing behind her, silent but looking very anxious to do some damage. "Oh no …" she whispered, almost wishing for the false reality from a few minutes ago.

"Where's your precious Kira now? It's just you, me and them, so you'd better appreciate me babe." Miriallia was trapped, far away from the Main Hall or the rest of the teams on their hunt, between the two deadly Warriors and none other than Dearka Elsman.

* * *

Kira and the others raced past Kuzzey and came to a sudden halt again. Inside the room were at least fifty drones, former humans with the odd scales grafted onto their skin that somehow gave Icess complete control over them. "What the hell?" Rusty asked, surprised at the sheer number of students. 

Yzak scanned the room. "Open fire! Kill them! Kill 'em all!" seven rifles raised and seven triggers were pulled, sending a horde of bullets spraying across the room, cutting down the slaves left and right quickly. Their screams of pain and surprise were nearly deafening, easily heard over the roar of seven rifles on automatic fire.

Within minutes the last body had dropped lifelessly to the floor, ending the slaughter. Seven empty clips were ejected and seven new ones loaded into place. "Where to now?" Olor asked.

Kira checked his wrist computer. "Uh, forward I guess. The hall should lead to the next major heat sources." No one else had a better plan, so the proceeded through the room, stepping over the dead bodies and exiting out the other side into a new corridor. Their boot steps echoed down the corridor.

"We should be nearing a t-junction in just a few meters." Kira informed them and just as they reached it, a sharp object zipped from down the adjoining corridor, narrowly missing Kira. "Son of a-" he started to curse. The weapon impacted on the wall a meter away and then was pulled back.

Stepping forward towards them was something they hadn't yet seen. It was much smaller than a Warrior, and nearly human-like, with two arms that had hands, two legs that had feet and a head. There was no pink-colored flesh, or even dull grey scales. Instead, the thing looked like it had been painted an olive green color. It had to be one of the Males because it was nowhere near the likeness of a slave.

"Zala, proceed on mission, I'll deal with our green friend here." Yzak ordered, blocking the way from the Male Forsaken. He grinned at his challenger as the rest of the team continued down the hallway. "So you're supposed to be smart and fast. It's been a while since I've had a decent fight."

The Male motioned Yzak forward with two fingers and the silver-haired Coordinator readily complied, taking two steps before starting into an all-out run. Less than ten feet away Yzak snapped his rifle up and fired the shotgun three times, and in less than three seconds, three slugs impacted with the Male, sending the green monster hurtling backwards with blood spraying everywhere.

When it became apparent that the Male was dead, Yzak scoffed. "That's it? I expected something harder." As if to answer his boastful challenge, two more Males stepped into view. A grin settled on Yzak's face. "That's more like it." With a loud yell, he charged again.

* * *

As quickly as the pressure started, it suddenly stopped, releasing Rau from its death grip. He steadied his breathing and then attended to the whimpering form of Lacus, her hands covering her ears as if the pressure had entered through there. Glancing around, everyone else seemed to be in the same state as Lacus, curled up on the stone floor, clutching their heads. 

A static seemed to fill his mind, along with the occasional voice. "_Commander Le Creuset, do you read? Commander Le Creuset, are you there? Come in!_" it spoke. Slowly Rau's head turned to the comm unit sitting on a crate. "_Commander Le Creuset, this is shuttle _Siren's Song_, we are inbound, e.t.a. of thirty minutes, repeat inbound e.t.a. of three zero minutes._"

It was the rescue shuttle that Lacus had requested when the teams had first started their patrols. Thanks to her father's connections, him being the Supreme Chairman of the PLANTs, Lacus was able to easily call for a rescue shuttle large enough to carry all of the students, researchers and any injured to safety. The only unknown factor was time. The Forsaken could have attacked at any time, which left the civilians vulnerable, so Rau figured that the best defense was a good offense.

His remaining team members were to stall the Forsaken in any way possible, only they didn't truly know that that was their objective. By attacking, they kept the enemy occupied, but they also kept the attention on them, which could kill them all. It was a gamble, but Rau had little doubt that his team would sacrifice themselves in order to ensure the safety of everyone else.

"This is Commander Rau Le Creuset to shuttle _Siren's Song_. I read you loud and clear. We'll be waiting for you." He finally replied.

"_Thank god you're still there Commander. There's a particularly nasty storm on top of your location but it seems to be abating. We'll send updates every ten minutes. _Siren's Song_ out._"

Thirty minutes could very well have been an eternity. "I want any able bodied person to start moving the injured near the entrance of the temple. We have a shuttle inbound to take us home, but the injured get priority." Rau called out.

To his relief, Professor Cyril stepped up to the plate. "You heard the man, move it! Keep a path clear to the entrance and be careful with the wounded." Despite the differences the two men had in the past, they could work together for a common goal.

"All teams listen up, we have a shuttle inbound for retrieval, I need two volunteers to return to the Main Hall." Rau informed his team. Not a minute later Athrun replied. "_Roger that Commander, Olor and Matthew are on their way back now._"

Now he just had to hope that the rest of them could hold out, after all time was expensive.

* * *

Icess sat back in throne, unconcerned about the loss of her drones and several Warriors. It was the same as the last time she had fought, a war of attrition, and one she could easily win. The humans were limited in their own warriors and would be extremely vulnerable once they were eliminated. 

Therefore, it was a shock when the body of a Male landed limply on the floor with the hilt of a blade sticking out of his chest. She stood up immediately. Yzak strolled in cockily, unperturbed about the cut that ran diagonally across his face. "For all the hype surrounding your little green men, they sure don't live up to expectations." He said arrogantly. Several Warriors and Males placed themselves between Yzak and their Queen. "Maybe you bunch will be better."

As Yzak opened fire, Icess sent out a furious mental command. "_Defend me! Return at once!_"

* * *

One minute Dearka was deciding what he should do with Miriallia and the next minute he clutched his temples as someone decided to put a loudspeaker inside his brain. "_Defend me! Return at once!_" Icess ordered, putting so much of her power behind the command that Dearka nearly blacked out. 

"I am not your pawn!" he yelled out loud, confusing an already frightened Miriallia. The two Warriors rushed off. "_RETURN!_" this time Dearka dropped to his knees in defeat. "Fine!"

It seemed to be the only chance Milly would get, Dearka was distracted and the two Warriors had run off. She managed no more than three steps when Dearka grabbed her wrist and started dragging her in the opposite direction. "Stop it, let go of me!" she pleaded, tugging futilely to get away. "I went through all that trouble to get you in the first place so I am not just going to let this go!" he yelled in return.

"Kira! Please, help me! I need you!" she screamed, hoping desperately that he was within earshot. Dearka turned, infuriated at the mention of Kira's name. He viciously backhanded her across the face. "Never speak his name if you want to live!" he warned, and once again, he started dragging her away.

* * *

No more than halfway to the Throne Room, his comm crackled to life again. "_This is Yzak, requesting immediate backup! Throne Room!_" Dearka's eyes widened in surprise, and he ungraciously swung Miriallia over his shoulder and took off in a run. 

When Rau had called for two volunteers, the group had finally taken notice that Dearka was missing. The last thing they wanted to do was alarm their Commander, so while Olor and Matthew returned to the Main Hall, Rusty and Miguel went to search for their missing comrade. Then they had received Yzak's call for reinforcements, and left with little choice, Kira and Athrun took up the slack.

"We're on our way Yzak, just hold tight!" Athrun transmitted. "Wait; do we even know where the Throne Room is?" Kira tapped a few buttons on his wrist computer. "I think I know where it is." He replied.

"You think?" Kira interrupted. "Would you rather ask for directions?" Athrun paused to consider. "Good point. Lead the way."

Kira and Athrun arrived in the Throne Room at the same time as Dearka carrying Miriallia, but they entered through different entrances and thus neither group realized the other was there. Bodies were strewn about, mostly dead Warriors, but a few Males. "Holy shit." Kira breathed.

Yzak fired the last rounds from his rifle, dropping the last Male in the room before smoothly unbuckling and discarding the empty rifle. Two switchblades appeared in his hands with the blades extended. He was a perfectly timed ballet of death, the blades flicking out to slice off tentacles, gouging eyes and slitting throats of the few remaining Warriors. Jabbing one blade deep into the head of the last Warrior, Yzak spun to face Icess, simultaneously drawing his Sturm Faust.

Icess lashed out, knocking the RPG from Yzak's hand, sending it flying towards Dearka, still oblivious to Kira and Athrun. In response, Yzak grabbed his other blade from the dead Warrior and readied himself. The Queen of the Forsaken took a step back and smirked. "You've shown great skill, but you are no match for me."

It was their first unobstructed view of the Queen that had been the cause of so much trouble, responsible for so many deaths and sacrifices. Icess was dark blue all over with knotted joints and grisly features. Her knobby fingers ended in sharp nails, Kira knew from experience how easily they could slice through flesh. A serpent like tongue slide between sharp teeth seemingly permanently set in a grin.

But it was her eyes that stood out. Both orbs were swirls of flame red and orange, constantly shifting as if unable to contain the terrible essence that was Icess. They were mesmerizing, which probably made it easier for her to control her subjects. Perhaps the oddest thing was the gaping hole in her chest; it looked like it had been gouged out by a large blade.

Kira hazily remembered touching the edges of the wound and feeling the frozen organs inside. Perhaps that was her one weakness to balance out all of her powers. The Queen's skin was smooth in some places, but then rough and dry in others, as if it was slowly decaying. Everything about the monster seemed as though it was out of an old science fiction movie, reminding Kira of the ones that Miriallia liked to watch.

"We'll see." Yzak growled, drawing their attention back to the fight at hand. He lunged forward, one blade ready to stab and the other ready for blocking. In an instant the nails on Icess' hands elongated to nearly six inches and she thrust them forward.

Yzak came to a dead stop, his knife barely an inch away from his target. He looked down slowly to see a hand in his stomach, in so deep that he couldn't see the fingers. The cold feeling that numbed his body told him that he was going to die. "Damn." He muttered. Icess lifted the valiant warrior off the ground and using her immense strength, threw him off her knife-like claws and crashing into the wall with bone-crushing speed.

His body even made an impact crater in the wall before sliding lifelessly to the floor, his eyes still open. Icess turned her attention to Dearka who was still holding onto Miriallia. "You are slow to return and you bring her?" she demanded. "You will punished for your insolence, but first she will die by your hands, to prove your loyalty to me"

Athrun managed to keep Kira from revealing their presence; it would show him just how far Dearka had fallen since arriving on Earth. "You …" he started, his body just seething with anger. "You killed Yzak, got Nichol killed, and after everything I've sacrifice you want me to kill her!"

Icess merely stared, infuriating Dearka even more. "I am not your pawn!" he screamed, and letting go of Miriallia finally, he rushed forwards, his foot flicking up the fallen Sturm Faust. He flipped the safety off and released the trigger in a smooth and practiced motion and just as Icess sank her long claws into the side of his face, he pulled the trigger. "Go to hell!" he managed to spit out before the shaped charge exploded.

As Dearka rushed forward, Kira ran over to Miriallia, managing to safely tackle her to the floor as the shockwave hit, sending stone and bits of metal flying everywhere. The dust started to settle, so Kira started to push off of Miriallia. "Hi Hero." She said warmly before kissing him.

"Sorry I'm late. Are you okay?" he asked. She smiled. "I am now." They heard a groan from several feet away and feared that Dearka was somehow still alive or worse yet, Icess. "Everyone okay?" Athrun called out, standing up and dusting himself off. "So far I'm all in one piece." Kira answered, standing up and offering his hand to help Milly up.

She took up but as she tried to stand she let out a gasp of pain and her hands shot to her thigh, where a piece of metal had stabbed into her. "Oh god, Athrun help!" Kira yelled, dropping to his knees. The shockwave had dulled their senses, but there was nothing like pain to bring them back.

Athrun knelt down and took out some gauze and something that looked like a really shortened handgun. "Hold her down." He ordered and firmly grasped the shard of metal. "This will hurt." He warned and then pulled it out. Miriallia let out a scream of pain as the offending object left, clutching onto Kira for comfort.

The blue-haired Coordinator grabbed the pistol look-alike and paused. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. Despite the pain, Mir managed to look at Athrun. "For … what?" she gritted out. "For this." He said and pulled the trigger, sparking a hot flame to life. Not wasting a second he put the flame against the wound, cauterizing it to prevent her from bleeding to death. The beginnings of a scream left Mir's lips but then the pain became so great that she passed out.

When he was done, he started to wrap her leg in the gauze. "Christ Athrun! Why the hell did you do that?" Kira was frantic, checking to make sure Milly still had a pulse and was still breathing. "I didn't have any synthflesh and stitches would have been ineffective. Cauterizing the wound was simply the fastest way to ensure she lived." He answered.

Athrun stood. "We've got a shuttle to catch, let's go." Kira gently picked up Miriallia and handed Athrun his rifle. "Right, let's get out of this damned place." He agreed. The two Coordinators took off, missing the sounds of shifting rock and gravel.

* * *

Well that took a while, now didn't it. I was at PAX '05, and it was a blast. Check out my profile for some notes from PAX. In the meantime, I'll pray that you all Review, and then I'll continue my work. 

Prayer


	10. The Exodus

Chapter 10: The Exodus

* * *

"Commander! We're almost done with loading the injured aboard the _Siren's Song_." Olor reported. "Good." Rau acknowledged. "Still no contact from the other teams?" Olor's silence confirmed Rau's fears. "What if we send a recon to find them?" he suggested. 

Rau shook his head. "Impossible, I need you and Matthew to ensure our safety. We'll just have to hope for the best, they are trained soldiers."

"Kira isn't." Olor reminded the masked commander. "Err, excuse me, but I'll go." Tolle volunteered. Rau and Olor looked at each other, but then Olor walked off muttering "it's your funeral."

"Pay him no heed Mister Koenig, it's very brave of you to volunteer, and I will take you up on your offer. I believe you already have a rifle?" Tolle nodded in confirmation. "Good then, I wish you luck."

Tolle paused for a second, as if expecting something more, but then saluted as best he could to Rau and took off, desperate to find his friends. "Even if it's the last thing I do," he vowed. "I'll make sure that they live."

* * *

"Didn't we just pass this hallway?" Athrun asked, eyeing the corridor. Kira looked around, shifting an unconscious Miriallia in his arms. "We might have. That damn Faust knocked my computer offline. I can't make heads or tails of these damn passageways." 

"Well, at least we can start marking these halls in case we are actually going in circles." He took out a medical tape and tore a strip off and stuck it to the wall. "Let's keep going."

They passed by several junctions, and at each one they marked the direction they went. Turning a corner to continue following a passageway, they ran right into Rusty and Miguel. "Yamato, Zala! Where's Yzak? We couldn't find Dearka anywhere. And why do you have that girl?" Rusty said.

"We found Dearka, he's dead, Yzak as well. I don't know how or why Miriallia left the Main Hall, but it's a moot point right now." Athrun replied. Miguel looked around. "There's a shuttle waiting for us, last I heard they were loading the injured first. Commander Le Creuset will wait as long as he can, but there are the rest of the students to consider." He told them.

Feeling more secure with the arrival of their teammates, they navigated through the corridors a little easier and with a lot more speed. It wasn't until they passed over some rubble that some Forsaken appeared. Led by a Male, several Warriors tried to stop the party's progress. "We'll handle these! Get to the Main Hall!" Rusty ordered as he and Miguel charged.

"He certainly is brave." Kira commented, staring after their diminishing forms. "Stupid is more like it. Come on, let's go." Athrun corrected. There were certainly very few Forsaken left after the combined assaults, Kira and Athrun ran into two Warriors but dealt with them with no troubles at all. It seemed that the remaining Forsaken were being dealt with by Rusty and Miguel.

They had to be close to the Main Hall by now, the corridors they passed through seemed more and more familiar, and in a good way too. They stopped to look down a T-junction and decide which way to go. "So, left or right? Fifty fifty on this one Kira." Athrun noted.

"I hate probability. It feels like we need to go left to get over to the Main Hall, but trust me when I say my sense of direction is not reliable at times." Athrun held in a snigger. "You've been using a computer to help you get around for too long my friend." He paused, opened his mouth to speak again, but then grunted in pain. Kira turned around. "Athrun? What's wrong?" he asked, but then saw the first two inches of a stone dagger jutting out of Athrun's stomach.

Looking past his wounded friend, Kira saw a Male Forsaken, his arm extended and smiling quite contently. The dagger left Athrun's stomach, widening the wound as it left. Somehow managing to stand, Athrun shook with pure rage. "Get to the Main Hall." He ordered through gritted teeth.

Kira didn't get a chance to argue because Athrun charged the Forsaken with a suicidal scream. This was his best chance at getting Miriallia to the relative safety of the Main Hall, and at least Olor and Matthew would be there to protect her. He turned and ran, listening to the sounds of Athrun cursing loudly, alternating between firing his shotgun and rifle and the screams of the dying Forsaken.

The sounds seemed to fade, and Kira hoped it was because he was getting further and further away from the fighting and not because Athrun was running out of time. A voice came over the comm unit. "_Kira …_" it was Athrun, his voice sounding hoarse.

"Athrun!" Kira yelled back, stopping in his tracks and turning around. "_Kira, tell Lacus …_" the sounds of a shotgun firing interrupted him. More screams echoed down the corridor. "_Tell Lacus that I love her._" He finally managed to finish his sentence.

There were several more shots and screams, and then a second of unsettling silence, followed by an explosion. Athrun had used his Sturm Faust on the enemy, and it took his life as well. "Athrun!" Kira called out, but received no response.

Back in the Main Hall, Lacus looked shocked. "Athrun …" she said pitifully. "Miss Clyne," Rau started. "I need to sit down." Lacus said numbly. "You are sitting down Miss Clyne." Rau noticed.

There was a pause. "Oh, then I need to pass out." And she did.

"_Any survivors, get back to the Main Hall otherwise we're lifting off without you._" Rau advised.

Kira took one last look at where Athrun had disappeared and then started on his way again for the Main Hall. Rounding another familiar corner, he nearly crashed right into Tolle, who managed to stop and backup before Kira did. "Kira! You're alive!" he said happily.

"Barely, but what are you doing here?" Kira responded. "I'm here to get you back to the Main Hall, and I'm not even going to ask why Miriallia is with you." Tolle said.

"That won't concern you for long." A voice full of hatred said. Kira aimed his rifle at the same time Tolle did, only they were facing opposite directions. Sai and Simon had them trapped; each of them had scales all over their bodies.

Half of Simon's head was covered, giving him a very creepy alien-like look, and the scales continued down the back of his neck, covered a strip along his arms and all of his hands, and then continued downwards, presumably to the feet in the same pattern as on his arms.

Sai on the other hand had scales present everywhere over his body except for his head, and he still wore his glasses. "Lower your weapon and stay out of this Tolle. I'll give you this one chance to get out of here and live." Sai warned. In response Tolle took aim at Sai. "I won't leave my friends Sai, and I won't let you hurt them."

"So instead you'll kill me? Some friend you are, old buddy." Sai leered. "The Sai I knew is dead; this thing standing in front of me would never threaten us if he was Sai." Tolle countered.

The next sequence of events happened so fast that before Kira knew it, he was knocked against the wall, cradling Miriallia while Tolle was on the stone floor with a gaping hole in his stomach. Sai was wounded and bleeding while Simon was just laughing. Sai looked down at Tolle. "I am truly sorry old friend." He apologized right before smashing his fist through Tolle's heart.

It was at this point that Miriallia finally regained consciousness. However, Kira was a little busy trying to deal with Tolle's death to notice. "No!" he screamed, firing his shotgun straight into Sai. The force of the shell blew Sai backwards, and the one-time friend of Kira's didn't get back up.

"Nicely done Yamato." Simon complimented. Kira turned his attention to Simon, and noticed out of the corner of his eye that Mir was paying attention. "Miriallia, get to the Main Hall, I'll deal with Simon."

"You see, Coordinators are so violent and brutal, all they can do is utter threats." Simon started, not caring about Miriallia at all. "Milly, go! I'll be right behind you." She hesitated for a second, not wanting to leave Kira, but facing Simon was something he had to do. Miriallia nodded and ran towards the Main Hall.

"All you know is how to fight and cause pain Kira, because that's all that any Coordinator knows how to do. Whether it was your choice or not, you're still nothing but a violent killing machine." Simon ranted.

"That's not true, Coordinator scientists have cured several deadly diseases for Naturals, its the hatred and mistrust stemming from the Naturals that puts Coordinators on edge. My parents and I wanted to avoid the fighting, that's why we moved to Heliopolis." Kira retorted.

"Yet here you are now, your rifle raised, ready to kill me in a single shot. Because you are a Coordinator, you volunteered for the killing. Your instinct is to fight."

Kira seethed with anger. "I'm fighting to protect my friends! It wouldn't matter if I was a Natural or a Coordinator, I would still protect them!" Simon tried to make a comeback, but ultimately failed, so instead he lunged at Kira. Narrowing his eyes, Kira calmly pulled the trigger.

* * *

"Wait!" Miriallia called out as she entered the Main Hall. Olor turned to see her and motioned to Commander Le Creuset. 

"Where is everyone else?" Rau asked. Miriallia shook her head. "Kira told me to get to the Main Hall; he said he'd be right behind me. I didn't see anyone else." She said, trying to catch her breath.

"Well get onboard the shuttle, if they don't get here soon, we'll be forced to lift off." Milly didn't like the finality of his words, but she nonetheless found a vacant spot near the entrance and took her seat. '_Kira please make it in time._'

Minutes passed with no more transmissions from anyone outside of the Main Hall and no signs of any life whatsoever. It appeared that how ever many Forsaken were still alive were being dealt with or had already been killed. It was a small piece of fortune for the survivors, nothing more.

Finally she heard footsteps. "Kira?" she asked, standing up. She only saw Miguel holding Rusty upright, the flame-haired boy holding his ribs protectively. "Sir, I believe we've accounted for most of the Forsaken." Miguel reported, handing Rusty off to a few of the impromptu medics.

"Any report from anyone else?" Miguel looked nervous. "We met up with Kira and Athrun, but then we heard Athrun's last transmission."

"Then we'll just have to hope for the best." Rau said.

More minutes passed, until finally the pilot of the _Siren's Song_ called back to Rau. "Sir, we're going to be hit by the other half of this storm if we stay here any longer."

"Prepare the shuttle for liftoff, but wait for my command." Rau ordered. The pilot and co-pilot looked at each other hesitantly, but then chorused an "aye sir."

Switches were flipped, levers were adjusted and buttons were pushed as the engines warmed up from their pre-flight mode. Mir could feel the vibrations through the ship. "We can't leave Kira behind, he's alive, and I know it!" she said desperately.

"And I can't afford to get everyone on this shuttle killed for one person. I'm sorry Miss Haw, but we'll just have to pray for them." Rau replied as kindly as he could.

A flash of motion caught Miriallia's eye. "Look, its Kira!" she nearly screamed. Indeed it was Kira, running as fast as he could, his rifle in one hand. He smiled as he saw Mir waiting for him at the shuttle entrance, but then frowned as her expression turned to horror. Her voice reached him. "Kira, behind you!"

He turned just in time to have Icess stab her claws right through his chest, barely missing his heart, but grazing his right lung. She pushed him to the stone floor and lodged her claws into the stone, trapping him there. Kira screamed in pain, his rifle sliding from his hand. She was obviously injured, the exploding Sturm Faust had done quite a number on her, but it hadn't been enough.

"Your death won't be enough to atone for all of my Forsaken you have killed, but it will be a start." She sneered and raised her other hand, claws extended. Icess jabbed down, narrowly missing as Kira twisted as best he could out of way, but in the process widening the wound in his chest.

The queen stabbed again, and again Kira managed to dodge a fatal blow, this time having a sharp claw stab through his left ear and lacerate his shoulder. Light glinted off of a steel weapon, and Kira realized his rifle was within his reach. "I'm going to enjoy killing you, her, and all of the students Kira." She taunted him, giving Kira enough time to firmly grab the rifle and swing the barrel of the shotgun into the old wound in her chest.

"Go to hell you fucking bitch!" he yelled, pulling the trigger. The powerful shotgun slug threw Icess upwards and backwards, tearing her claws out of Kira's chest. She landed in a mangled heap and stopped moving.

Summoning the last of his strength, Kira stood up wobbly and smiled at Milly, and then collapsed face first as the rain began to pour once again. "Kira!" Mir screamed and tried to run to him. Rau tried to hold her back, but Milly slipped through his grip and ran to her good friend. "Get up Kira, get up!" she ordered, trying in vain to lift him. She tried to drag him, but he simply weighed too much for her to carry.

"Please … don't do this to me." She whispered. A shadow appeared over her, and she looked up to see Rau. Before she could plead for help, Rau grabbed the back of Kira's shirt and lifted him off the ground. "Into the shuttle Miss Haw." She nodded and they entered the shuttle.

"Lift off!" Rau ordered, hitting the button to seal the shuttle doors. The pilot acknowledged and started a slow ascent, wary of the injured peoples on board. Sliding to the floor, Miriallia cradled Kira as she tried to staunch the flow of blood coming from his chest.

His eyes flickered open. "You shouldn't cry for me …" he uttered. Shutting out the tears, Miriallia lowered her head and kissed him gently as the shuttle rose, taking them away from the horror of the temple that contained the Legend of Icess, the Queen of the Forsaken.

* * *

I think this chapter is a little shorter than my previous ones, but here it is nonetheless. I might answer any questions you faithful readers have in a short add-on to this story. Thank you for sticking with me, and please Review. 

Prayer


	11. Epilogue

Epilogue

* * *

The _Siren's Song_ docked at Februarius 5, a PLANT that specialized in applied medical sciences and surgery. Multiple ambulances were waiting as the shuttle docked in a special zone designated primary for rescue shuttles containing wounded. Kira was strapped to a stretcher and was whisked away immediately. He was the most critically wounded, followed by Rusty and Miguel, then Miriallia. 

The rest of the students suffered from minor cases of malnutrition, dehydration and stress. The Supreme Council kept quiet about having over one hundred Naturals on a PLANT to receive medical treatment, while few Coordinators wished for war, few Coordinators viewed Naturals without mistrust. It was merely for the safety of all of the people, to keep them all calm.

Miriallia Haw was anything but calm. She ignored the nurse trying to inspect her leg wound as she called out and looked around for Kira. "Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down and stay still so we can look at your burn." The nurse pleaded. Milly could care less about some burn while Kira was still horribly injured. "I'll stop when I find Kira!" she snapped back at the nurse and hobbled away to check each of the operating rooms for Kira.

She finally found him in a room that looked like it was meant to be observed. Mir was standing by a window looking down into the room and could see seats on the opposite side of the room behind more windows. Two doctors and two nurses were standing over Kira, examining his chest and x-rays of his wound. Leaning in close, she discovered she could faintly hear what they were saying.

"His right lung has been punctured, and as a result blood has begun to flow in. I don't suggest we use an anesthetic, it might slow his heart down too much with all of the blood loss." One of the doctors was saying.

"Commander Le Creuset has informed us that this boy is a Coordinator, so we'll be able to perform open surgery without too much risk to the patient." The other doctor agreed. One of the nurses stepped forward with a scalpel and a large pair of scissor look-alikes. "Maybe he'll pass out from the pain." She suggested. They laughed and began their work on poor Kira.

Whatever state of consciousness Kira had been in before, he was fully aware as they began to cut his rib-cage open to get access to his heart and lungs. Miriallia started to pound ineffectually on the operating window as Kira screamed in more pain. The nurse from before finally found her. "Miss Haw, please do not disturb the doctors when they are operating on a patient, you could distract them which might kill the patient." She scolded the Natural girl.

At this time, Miriallia had had enough. "They are torturing him, not helping him! He's been through so much already is a little compassion too much to ask for!"

"Please calm yourself Miss Haw, I don't wish to have you sedated but if you continue to shout and yell then I'll have no choice." The nurse threatened in a motherly manner. "I am not going anywhere until those bastards stop butchering what's left of Kira!" she said resolutely.

The nurse motioned to someone outside of Miriallia's vision, but before she could protest any further, someone pricked her with a needle, injecting a cold, clear fluid. In no time, her eyelids began to droop as she tried to complain one last time. Darkness claimed her thereafter.

* * *

It was two days after Kira's life-saving surgery had been completed, and it had left the boy exhausted. He had slept all of the first day, receiving vital nutrients from an IV, and ended up sleeping for almost 18 hours of the second day, waking up in time for an evening meal and a visit from Rau. 

Kira tried to sit up as Rau entered, but the masked man placed his hand gently on Kira's shoulder. "There's no need Kira, you're injured." He said simply. Kira relaxed back into the bed. "I want to thank you sir, for everything." Kira said.

"I should be the one thanking you Kira, you saved a lot of innocent people from a fate that would be considered worse than death, and more than once as well." Rau disagreed.

But Kira wouldn't accept all of the credit. "If you hadn't brought those weapons with you to Earth or if you and your teams hadn't participated in the project then none of us would have lived."

"I suppose. When you are more recovered, we'll talk again. I'll leave you to your evening meal." Rau started to leave, but Kira stopped him. "Commander wait, where's Miriallia? Is she okay?"

A sad smile passed over her face. "In her zeal to make sure you were fine, a nurse was forced to sedate her, except she didn't realize that Miss Haw was a Natural, so the dose was a bit too strong. She's still unconscious right now, but she's in stable condition. I suspect you'll be recovered sooner than she will. Get lots of rest young Yamato, I'll be back."

'_Miriallia, what have you done now? Be safe, please._' Kira silently prayed. His unappetizing meal beckoned him, and he knew that he would need the strength to recover, so he ate, and then fell asleep again.

He woke up the next morning around 10AM, just as a nurse was taking away his empty dinner tray and placing a fresh breakfast tray. "Good morning Mister Yamato, how are we feeling today?" she greeted him politely.

Blinking away the sleep around his eyes, he sat up slowly with the aid of the nurse. "A lot better actually." He replied, eyeing his breakfast which looked a lot better than last night's dinner. "That's good to know. The Doctor says you might be able to be allowed to go out and about unsupervised later today."

"I'd like that. Can I ask you a favor?" he asked. She regarded him for a second. "I suppose." She said neutrally. "Can you find out which room Miriallia Haw is in? She's a really good friend of mine, and I'd really appreciate it." He implored her.

"I will try to find out. For now, eat up and save your strength, then I'm sure the Doctor will let you walk around." She left the room, sighing dreamily about her cute patient. The Doctor came to check up on Kira at 3 in the afternoon and found him staring out the window solemnly.

"And how are you today young Mister Kira?" he asked, flipping through a few pages on the clipboard located at the foot of Kira's bed. "I'm feeling a lot better than last night Doctor." He replied honestly.

"And your chart agrees with you." The Doctor reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic card with a metal clip. "This will allow you to walk in our hallways unescorted. Your nurse has informed me that you wish to know the location of Miss Miriallia Haw?" Kira nodded eagerly. "A good friend is she? Well she's just down the end of the hall in room 502, but she is unfortunately still under the effects of the sedative. I believe she'll wake up tomorrow sometime."

"Thank you very much Doctor." Kira thanked him genuinely. "Just make sure you recover and don't strain your body too much. You're a good patient, but I'd hate to keep you here any longer that required."

The Doctor left and Kira stared outside again, looking at the bright sunny day that was out there. Steeling himself, Kira got out of his bed and stood for the first time in three days. He took a few trial steps, and seeing that he probably wasn't about to fall flat on his face, walked out of his room, on a mission to get to Miriallia's room.

He made it, passing by other patients in various conditions, some of them on wheelchairs, some on crutches, other missing entire limbs. It was a little disconcerting to Kira; he had never been in a hospital after he had been born. Finally, Room 502 appeared before his eyes, the door half-shut, and the north-side windows letting some of the light in.

Remembering the Doctor's words, Kira didn't bother to knock; instead, he just walked in cautiously. Miriallia lay on the bed, still sleeping, and rather peacefully in Kira's opinion, looking like an angel. There was an empty chair beside her bed, so he sat in it and held her hand. "Milly, I'm here for you, no matter what." He said soberly.

She shifted in her sleep, but didn't wake. He stayed until the sun started to set, and then a nurse took him back to his room to rest again. "She'll be here in the morning." She assured Kira. "And she'll probably be awake as well."

Despite being excited about the possibility of being able to talk with Miriallia again, Kira fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. His dreams were plagued once again by nightmares, and it was if he was getting a guided tour through his own mind, and Icess was the guide.

'_You can't escape me Kira …_'

"But I killed you …"

'_Do you really think a mere human like you could kill me? This is the second time I've been thought to be dead._'

"I'll make sure it's the last Icess, I won't let you live again."

'_Like you have a choice, I'm surprised you're still alive._'

"I'm tougher than you think I am."

'_So I see. Don't mistake me for a humble Warrior, Kira, I know of things that your mind would assume is pure fantasy._'

"If you're alive Icess, then I won't stop until you stay dead!"

'_Such anger for someone so naïve. I will have my revenge before you can stop me, mark my words._'

Kira's eyes snapped open, allowing him to see the darkened hospital room. "That was no dream …" he said forlornly. Sleep claimed him again, letting him rest in peace for the remainder of the night. When the nurse entered in the morning, she saw that Kira was already out of his bed, and his room.

There was only one thing on his mind, Miriallia. She was unfortunately still sleeping when Kira arrived, but it looked more normal than a tranquilized sleep. He sat in the chair again and took hold of her hand, squeezing it gently. "I don't like feeling so helpless Mir, I wish you could wake up, so then I'd know that everything will be alright."

There was a change in her heart rate as she finally woke up. Milly concentrated to bring her blurry eyesight back into focus, and realized that Kira was sitting beside her bed. "Hi Hero." She said, using her pet name for Kira. "Good morning Angel."

She yawned and sat up. "How long have I been asleep?" she asked, remembering faintly about being sedated. "Almost three days." Milly stared at him. "The nurse didn't know you were a Natural, so you got a shot that was meant for a Coordinator." He explained.

They sat in silence for a moment, until Kira noticed the warm sunny day outside her window. "What do you say we take a walk?" he suggested. "I'd love to."

* * *

The hospital cleared both of them to leave, allowing them to take a long romantic stroll wherever they wanted. Unfortunately their plans were slightly interrupted thanks to Rau. "I just wanted to let you two know that everything will be covered by Supreme Chairman Clyne, Lacus' father. He wishes all of you a speedy recovery and safe trip home." He told them, and then took out two tickets. 

Rau handed one to Miriallia, but paused for Kira. "I want to offer my nomination for you to join ZAFT Kira. I know you have what it takes to be the best."

Kira was shocked. "I … I don't know what to say Commander …" he stuttered. "Think about it for a bit, you can even go home and come back if you want, I'll make sure there'll be no hassles." Rau handed Kira his ticket and a card. "This how to contact me, at any time." He walked off, leaving Kira and Milly to themselves.

"Are you going to do it Kira, join ZAFT?" Mir asked worriedly.

Kira stared at the card and shuttle ticket. "You know ..." he looked up. "I don't know."

* * *

So was that a cliffhanger? Yes, no? I want to thank everyone who reviewed, and I encourage all to review, it helps boost the confidence of a writer, and it can help them improve. I'm going to answer a few things, and if you aren't satisfied, or I didn't get to your questions/concerns, then send me an e-mail at kudos to those who caught the Zelda reference in Chapter 1. Unfortunately, the latest news I've heard was the game is pushed back to mid-April 2006, but there was a cool demo at PAX '05. 

Kedima: I must be messed in the head when it comes to your e-mail address, it still sends a "send error" for me. I hope you continue to read K/M fics and I encourage you to read Hildebrant's works.

PoisonousAkemi4869: I hope I didn't make you wait too long for each update, I try my best.

A few people noticed the likeness between the setting for Icess and the setting for Aliens versus Predator. You know, that wasn't a completely terrible movie after all.

KL,AC,DM Forever: I just want to clear up what seems like a little confusion. Dearka didn't swing, he fired the Sturm Faust (German for Rocket Fist or something like that), however, he was killed in one swing from Icess.

kittykute: … that's an interesting review for sure …

KariHP: so you caught the Star Wars reference. I'll admit, I know far too many lines and quotes for my own good, some well-known, others seemingly obscure, and I like to use a lot of them because they make good sense. I guess you can blame this on the misfortune of my birth …

To everyone who has stayed with me the entire way, and to those who only reviewed once, it has been a pleasure. I hope I can continue to perform up to your expectations.

DarkRoxy (a.k.a. LethalDose), Hildebrant, all I ask of you is that you both continue to update. And thank you both for your help, for everything you two have done for me. I appreciate it greatly.

My profile has been redone (or I've actually updated it), check there for a small list of upcoming stories and my AMV projects. Until next time,

Prayer


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